damnedest

English

Alternative forms

• damndest

Etymology

damned +‎ -est

Adjective

damnedest

1. superlative form of damned: most damned; surprising, remarkable, amazing.
   • 1900, Phillip Gardner, Someone to Crawl Back to, page 107:

     "And the damnedest thing happened. I was dreaming, but in my dream I was dreaming. It was the damnedest thing, really."

Related terms

• I'll be damned

Noun

damnedest (uncountable)

1. One's best effort.
   • 1991, Cathy Cash Spellman, Paint the Wind, page 148:

     "Fancy was doing her damnedest to pull her own oar and the boys were tripping all over themselves to treat her like a lady."

Derived terms

• do one's damnedest

Verb

damnedest

1. (archaic) second-person singular simple past indicative of damn

See also

• darnedest

Anagrams

• demandest, maddenest