damn

 
Pronunciation: /dam/

verb

[with object]
  • 1 (be damned) (in Christian belief) be condemned by God to suffer eternal punishment in hell: I treated her badly and I’ll be damned to hell for it
  • be doomed to misfortune or failure: the enterprise was damned
  • 2criticize strongly: the book damns her husband
  • curse (someone or something): she cleared her throat, damning it for its huskiness damn him for making this sound trivial

exclamation

informal
  • expressing anger or frustration: Damn! I completely forgot!

adjective

[attributive] informal
  • used for emphasis, especially to express anger or frustration: turn that damn thing off! [as submodifier]: don’t be so damn silly!

Phrases

as near as damn it

as close to being accurate as makes no difference.

—— be damned

used to express defiance or rejection of someone or something previously mentioned: glory be damned!

damn all

British informal nothing at all: there’s damn all you can do about it

damn someone/thing with faint praise

praise someone or something so unenthusiastically as to imply condemnation: it was a wretched review, damning poor Lisa with faint praise

I'm (or I'll be) damned if

informal used to express a strong negative: I’m damned if I know

not be worth a damn

informal have no value at all: your evidence isn’t worth a damn

not give (or care) a damn

informal not care at all: people who don’t give a damn about the environment

well I'll be (or I'm) damned

informal used to express surprise: Well, I’ll be damned! What brings you here?

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French dam(p)ner, from Latin dam(p)nare 'inflict loss on', from damnum 'loss, damage'