Meaning & use
malediction
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Meaning
nouncountable
A curse, or spoken words expressing a wish that harm or misfortune will befall someone.
Grammar: Countable: 'a malediction,' 'several maledictions'; more formal and literary than 'curse.'
Patterns
- utter a malediction
- heap a malediction on someone
- under a malediction
The novel describes an old woman whispering a malediction over the stolen necklace.
In the legend, the hero is born under a malediction that follows him to adulthood.
Word forms
| plural | maledictions |
|---|
Common combinations
- utter a malediction
- The priest in the story refuses to utter a malediction, even against his enemy.
- a malediction against someone
- She feared the stranger had spoken a malediction against the harvest.
- formal malediction
- The essay quotes a formal malediction from a sixteenth-century trial record.
Synonyms and how they differ
- curse
- Curse is the everyday word and can also mean a swear word or source of harm; 'malediction' is literary and ritual.
- imprecation
- Imprecation is formal and emphasizes calling down punishment or disaster, often in religious language.
- anathema
- Anathema can mean a strong curse or a person/thing formally denounced, especially in religious contexts.
Opposites
Word family
- maledict verb
- Rare and literary: to curse or speak evil against someone.
- benediction noun
- A blessing, especially a formal religious one; the opposite in meaning.
Commonly confused: malediction or benediction? malediction or malediction?
malediction vs benediction
Benediction is a blessing; malediction is a curse, despite the similar endings.
malediction vs malediction
Do not confuse with 'maladiction' or 'addiction'; the middle element is '-dict-' from speaking.
Practice
Which word best completes the literary sentence: The queen spoke a ___ over the traitor's house.
Choose one answer.
A wish of harm against the traitor is a curse, so formal 'malediction' fits; blessing is the opposite, while gift and slogan do not mean a spoken curse.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “malediction”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.