malediction

Pronunciation: /ˌmæl.əˈdɪk.ʃən/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the act of calling down a curse that invokes evil (and usually serves as an insult)

Etymology

From late Middle English malediccion, from Middle French malédiction, from Latin maledictiō (“curse”) from malus (“evil”) + dictiō (“speech”) noun of action from perfect passive participle dictus (“spoken”), from verb dīcō (“speak”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

imprecation

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
execration

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