damn

English

Etymology

Middle English dampnen, from Old French damner, from Latin damnare ‎(“to condemn, inflict loss upon”), from damnum ‎(“loss”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dæm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æm
• Homophone: dam

Verb

damn ‎(third-person singular simple present damns, present participle damning, simple past and past participle damned)

1. (theology, transitive, intransitive) To condemn to hell.

   The official position is that anyone who does this will be damned for all eternity.

   Only God can damn'. — I damn you eternally, fiend!

2. To condemn; to declare guilty; to doom; to adjudge to punishment; to sentence; to censure.
   • Shakespeare

     He shall not live; look, with a spot I damn him.

3. To put out of favor; to ruin; to label negatively.

   I’m afraid that if I speak out on this, I’ll be damned as a troublemaker.

4. To condemn as unfit, harmful, of poor quality, unsuccessful, invalid, immoral or illegal.
   • Alexander Pope

     You are not so arrant a critic as to damn them [the works of modern poets] […] without hearing.

5. (vulgar) To curse; put a curse upon.

   That man stole my wallet. Damn him!

6. (archaic) To invoke damnation; to curse.
   • Goldsmith:

     […] while I inwardly damn.

Conjugation

Conjugation of damn

infinitive	(to) damn
	present tense	past tense
1st person singular	damn	damned
2nd person singular	damn, damnest1
3rd person singular	damns, damneth1
plural	damn
subjunctive	damn
imperative	damn	—
participles	damning	damned
1) Archaic or obsolete.

Related terms

damnation damned damnable dammit give a damn tinker's damn

goddammit God damn, goddamn goddamned damn skippy damn straight

damn by association damn with faint praise damn the torpedoes damn your eyes damn your hide

Translations

theology: to condemn to hell

• Armenian: անիծել (hy) ‎(anicel)
• Bulgarian: проклинам (bg) ‎(proklinam)
• Catalan: maleir (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: trad. 該死, simpl. 该死 (gāisǐ)

• Czech: zatratit
• Danish: fordømt
• Esperanto: damni
• Finnish: tuomita (fi) (kadotukseen)
• German: verdammen
• Ido: damnar (io)

• Italian: dannare
• Japanese: 地獄に落とす ‎(じごくにおとす, jigoku ni otosu)
• Lithuanian: prakeikti
• Macedonian: проколнува ‎(prokólnuva)
• Polish: przekląć
• Portuguese: amaldiçoar (pt), danar (pt)
• Russian: проклина́ть (ru) impf ‎(proklinátʹ), прокля́сть (ru) pf ‎(prokljástʹ)
• Spanish: maldecir (es), condenar (es)
• Swedish: förbanna (sv), fördöma (sv)

to put out of favor

• Bulgarian: осъждам (bg) ‎(osǎždam), порицавам (bg) ‎(poricavam)

• Finnish: tuomita (fi)

to condemn as unfit etc.

• Esperanto: damni
• Finnish: tuomita (fi)
• French: damner (fr), réprouver (fr)

• Italian: condannare (it)
• Spanish: condenar (es), reprobar (es)

to put a curse upon

• Bulgarian: кълна (bg) ‎(kǎlna), проклинам (bg) ‎(proklinam)
• Cantonese: 死
• Catalan: maleir (ca)
• Estonian: needma
• Finnish: kirota (fi)

• Italian: maledire (it)
• Mandarin: 該死的
• Portuguese: amaldiçoar (pt)
• Spanish: maldecir (es)
• Swedish: förbanna (sv)
• Turkish: lanetlemek (tr)

Adjective

damn ‎(not comparable)

1. (vulgar) Generic intensifier. Fucking; bloody.

   Shut the damn door!

Synonyms

• see also Wikisaurus:damned

Translations

generic intensifier

• Cantonese: 死, 鬼
• Catalan: maleït (ca)
• Finnish: kirottu (fi), samperin, saamarin, pahuksen
• French: foutu (fr)
• Dutch: please add this translation if you can
• German: verdammt (de)
• Hungarian: átkozott (hu)
• Indonesian: berengsek (id), sialan (id), bedebah (id), keparat (id)
• Italian: maledetto (it) m, fottuto (it) m
• Japanese: 糞 (ja) ‎(くそ, kuso)

• Lithuanian: prakeiktas m, prakeikta f
• Macedonian: проклет m ‎(próklet)
• Polish: cholerny (pl) m
• Portuguese: maldito (pt), merda de, porra de
• Spanish: maldito (es), puto (es)
• Swedish: förbannad (sv), sabla (sv), djävla (sv), fördömd
• Turkish: kahrolasıca

Adverb

damn ‎(not comparable)

1. (vulgar) Very, extremely.

   That car was going damn fast!

Translations

awfully, extremely

• Bulgarian: ужасно (bg) ‎(užasno)
• Catalan: malaïdament
• Danish: pokkers, hulens, forbandet
• Finnish: pahuksen, samperin, saamarin, jumalattoman
• German: schrecklich (de), verdammt (de)
• Hungarian: átkozottul (hu)

• Italian: maledettamente (it), dannatamente, fottutamente
• Japanese: 糞 (ja) ‎(くそ, kuso)
• Macedonian: проклето ‎(prókleto)
• Polish: cholernie (pl)
• Portuguese: pra caralho (pt)
• Spanish: malditamente (es)
• Swedish: förbannat (sv), djävligt (sv)

Interjection

damn

1. (vulgar) Used to express anger, irritation, disappointment, annoyance, contempt, etc. See also dammit.

Derived terms

• dayum (slang, emphatic form)
• darn
• dizamn (slang, emphatic form)

Synonyms

• see also Wikisaurus:dammit'

Translations

non-vulgar expression of contempt etc.

• Arabic: اَللُّعْنَة f ‎(al-luʿna)
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Cantonese: 頂
• Catalan: cagondena
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 糟糕 (zh) ‎(zāogāo), 該死 (zh), 该死 (zh) ‎(gāisǐ), 你妹! ‎(ni3-mei4)

• Danish: pokkers, sørens, hulens
• Esperanto: damne
• Finnish: pahus (fi), hitto (fi), samperi (fi), saamari (fi)
• French: mince (fr)
• Georgian: ჯანდაბა ‎(ǯandaba)
• German: verdammt (de), Mist (de)
• Hungarian: a fenébe (hu), a francba, a fene egye meg
• Indonesian: sialan (id), kampret (id), brengsek (id)
• Italian: accidenti (it), dannazione (it), cribbio (it), cavolo (it), mannaggia (it)
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} しまった! ‎(shimatta) ! 糞 , ^{(please verify)} くそ ‎(kuso) (lit. shit), ^{(please verify)} 畜生！ (ja) ‎(ちくしょう！, chikushō!) , ^{(please verify)} チェ！ ‎(che) !

• Khmer: ឈឺក្បាលវិលមុខ ‎(cʰɨɨ kbaal vɨl muk)
• Korean: 망할 ‎(mang-hal) (damn it!)
• Lithuanian: velnias m
• Macedonian: по ѓаволите ‎(po ǵavólite), проклетство ‎(prókletstvo)
• Malay: hampas
• Maori: āhahā, aeha
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Persian: لعنتی (fa) ‎(la'nati)
• Polish: cholera (pl)!, do diabła!, psiakrew (pl)!
• Portuguese: porcaria (pt), maldição (pt), droga (pt), poça (pt)
• Russian: чёрт (ru) ‎(čort) (devil), чёрт побери́ (ru) ‎(čort poberí), прокля́тие (ru) n ‎(prokljátije), блин (ru) ‎(blin)
• Serbo-Croatian: Kvragu (lit. to the devil)
• Spanish: maldición (es), maldita sea, diablos (es)
• Swedish: fan (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

Noun

damn ‎(plural damns)

1. The use of "damn" as a curse.

   said a few damns and left

2. (vulgar) A small, negligible quantity, being of little value.

   The new hires aren't worth a damn.

3. (vulgar) The smallest amount of concern or consideration.

   I don’t give a damn.

Translations

use of damn as a swear word

• Albanian: mallkoj (sq)
• Arabic: اَللُّعْنَة ‎(al-luʿna)
• Belarusian: праклён ‎(práklon)
• Bulgarian: проклятие (bg) n ‎(prokljatie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 糟糕 (zh) ‎(zāogāo), 該死 (zh), 该死 (zh) ‎(gāisǐ), 哎呀 (zh) ‎(āiyā), 咳 (zh) ‎(hāi)

• Czech: sakra
• Finnish: hitto (fi)
• French: merde (fr), putain (fr)
• German: ^{(please verify)} verdammt (de), (so ein) Mist!, ^{(please verify)} Scheiße! (de)

• Hindi: कोसना (hi) ‎(kōsanā)
• Italian: maledizione (it) f
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} しまった ‎(shimatta), ^{(please verify)} 糞 (ja), ^{(please verify)} くそ ‎(kuso) (lit. shit), ^{(please verify)} 最低の ‎(saitei-no)
• Lithuanian: prakeikimas m
• Portuguese: porcaria (pt) f, maldição (pt) f
• Romanian: (profane) la naiba!
• Russian: (devil) чёрт (ru) ‎(čort), чёрт побери́ (ru) ‎(čort poberí), прокля́тие (ru) n ‎(prokljátije), чёрт возьми́ (ru) ‎(čort vozʹmí)
• Spanish: maldito (es)

a small, negligible quantity, being of little value

• Italian: accidente (it) f

• Swedish: jota (sv) n, dugg (sv) n

the smallest amount of concern or consideration

• Italian: (un) tubo (it) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Mandarin: trad. 詛咒, simpl. 诅咒 (zǔzhòu)
• Spanish maldecir, blasfemar
• Esperanto: (4) ^{(please verify)} fidiri
• Ido: ^{(please verify)} damnar (io)
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} 呪う (ja) ‎(のろう, norou)