malediction
Other forms: maledictions
“Darn you!” “Go bury your head in the sand.” “You ugly nincompoop!” Each of those nasty curses is a malediction (and, I’m sure, nothing you would ever say to another human being).
A malediction is a curse. Not like the kind a witch puts on someone, but close. More like what the schoolyard bully says to hurt someone’s feelings. On purpose. Malediction has male in it, but it’s not a slur against men or boys. Mal comes from the Latin for "evil" and "diction," and as you may remember, has to do with what we say. So a malediction is an evil statement directed at someone else. Pretty nasty, if you ask me.
-
the act of calling down a curse that invokes evil (and usually serves as an insult)synonyms: imprecationtype of:condemnation, curse, execrationan appeal to some supernatural power to inflict evil on someone or some group
- MLA
- APA
- Chicago
Vocabulary lists containing malediction
Practice this list of English words derived from the Latin roots dic and dict, which mean "say" or "declare."
In this tragedy, King Lear's plan to divide his kingdom between his three daughters leads to his downfall when he misjudges their true feelings.
Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize Elie Wiesel died on July 2 at the age of 87. Wiesel was a survivor of the Holocaust, spending time in several concentration camps, including Auschwitz. He wrote movingly about his experiences in the camps in his trilogy "Night," "Dawn" and "Day." Wiesel was a tireless crusader for human dignity and freedom around the world. His work, including his many speeches, is a constant reminder that humankind should stand up for the weak and the persecuted. Here are 10 vocabulary words from quotes by Elie Wiesel.