damned; damning
ˈda-miŋ 
1
: to condemn to a punishment or fate
especially
: to condemn to hell
2
a
: to condemn vigorously and often irascibly for some real or fancied fault or defect
damned the storm for their delay
b
: to condemn as a failure by public criticism
3
: to bring ruin on
4
: to swear at : curse
—often used to express annoyance, disgust, or surprise
damn him, he should have been careful
I'll be damned
1
: the utterance of the word damn as a curse
2
: a minimum amount or degree (as of care or consideration) : the least bit
don't give a damn
damn
3 of 3adjective or adverb
: damned
a damn nuisance
ran damn fast
Synonyms
Verb
Noun
- beans
- bubkes
- bupkes
- bupkus
- continental
- darn
- durn
- diddly [slang]
- diddly-squat [slang]
- doodley-squat
- doodly-squat
- fig
- ghost
- hoot
- iota
- jot
- lick
- modicum
- rap
- squat [slang]
- syllable
- tittle
- whit
- whoop
Adjective or adverb
- absolute
- all-out
- arrant
- blank
- blooming [chiefly British]
- bodacious [Southern & Midland]
- categorical
- categoric
- clean
- complete
- consummate
- crashing
- damned
- dead
- deadly
- definite
- downright
- dreadful
- fair
- flat
- flat-out
- out-and-out
- outright
- perfect
- plumb
- profound
- pure
- rank
- regular
- sheer
- simple
- stark
- stone
- straight-out
- thorough
- thoroughgoing
- total
- unadulterated
- unalloyed
- unconditional
- unmitigated
- unqualified
- utter
- very
Examples of damn in a Sentence
Verb
But it is functional talk for the purpose of conveying information, not, as often in the case of Waugh, for entertaining his audience, humdrum veracity be damned.
—
Robert Murray Davis, Commonweal, 5 June 2009
Congress demanded an immediate investigation and over the next year held dramatic hearings, launched a variety of inquests, and produced several pounds of reports that condemned FEMA. One report damned the agency as a dumping ground for political appointees …
—Christopher Cooper & Robert Block, Disaster, 2006
No American war has been more roundly damned than the Mexican. Within months after its outbreak Whigs and abolitionists accused Polk of plotting the ambush on the Rio Grande and misrepresenting the facts in order to stampede the nation into a war of conquest …
—Walter A. McDougall, Promised Land, Crusader State, 1997
He damned them for their stupidity.
damned the car for once again breaking down
Noun
I don't want to hear about your problems—I just don't give a damn.
Adjective or adverb
told her she'd never get married because she was too damn picky
that dilapidated house is a damn eyesore and should be torn down
Robert Murray Davis, Commonweal, 5 June 2009
Congress demanded an immediate investigation and over the next year held dramatic hearings, launched a variety of inquests, and produced several pounds of reports that condemned FEMA. One report damned the agency as a dumping ground for political appointees …
—Christopher Cooper & Robert Block, Disaster, 2006
No American war has been more roundly damned than the Mexican. Within months after its outbreak Whigs and abolitionists accused Polk of plotting the ambush on the Rio Grande and misrepresenting the facts in order to stampede the nation into a war of conquest …
—Walter A. McDougall, Promised Land, Crusader State, 1997
He damned them for their stupidity.
damned the car for once again breaking down
Noun
I don't want to hear about your problems—I just don't give a damn.
Adjective or adverb
told her she'd never get married because she was too damn picky
that dilapidated house is a damn eyesore and should be torn down
Recent Examples on the WebDominic Patten, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2024
Unfortunately, Lewis just so happened to recently find himself at the scene of a murder involving none other than Rose's policeman ex-boyfriend Joel (Kyle Gallner), the person who witnessed Rose's self-immolation in the final minutes of the first movie and damned himself in the process.
—Megan McCluskey, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024
Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 5 July 2024
Be prepared to take a sharp inhale at the end of the episode when Betina finally starts to snap out of her Macchiarini fog and actually does some research worth a damn.
—Vulture, 21 Dec. 2023
Justin Kaufmann, Axios, 23 Oct. 2024
Those detectives did their damn homework on these women.
—Andy Swift, TVLine, 16 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for damn 
Verb
The duo also went on an ostentatious spending spree in the immediate aftermath of their parents’ deaths, which damned them in the view of many.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2024
Unfortunately, Lewis just so happened to recently find himself at the scene of a murder involving none other than Rose's policeman ex-boyfriend Joel (Kyle Gallner), the person who witnessed Rose's self-immolation in the final minutes of the first movie and damned himself in the process.
—Megan McCluskey, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024
Noun
But the rate at which people are ditching cable suggests that carriage fees won’t be worth a tinker’s damn by the time the looming batch of NBA deals expires.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 5 July 2024
Be prepared to take a sharp inhale at the end of the episode when Betina finally starts to snap out of her Macchiarini fog and actually does some research worth a damn.
—Vulture, 21 Dec. 2023
Adjective or adverb
The plan: Renovate the whole damn place while adding a global terminal that would connect the entire airport by 2026.
—Justin Kaufmann, Axios, 23 Oct. 2024
Those detectives did their damn homework on these women.
—Andy Swift, TVLine, 16 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for damn
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'damn.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Damn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/damn. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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