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GRE vocabulary

malediction

nounHigh-frequency wordMore M words

a curse calling down harm or misfortune on someone

Word origin: From Latin male, badly, and dicere, to speak.

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In a sentence

Malediction in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing malediction in a sentence.

The wronged sorcerer pronounced a malediction on the king and all his descendants.

The villain in the medieval poem hurls a malediction at the hero, promising ruin to his entire line.

Synonyms
curseimprecationexecration
Antonyms
blessingbenedictionpraise

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Verbal · Text Completion

Critics initially dismissed the composer's late works as merely blank, but later scholars recognized in them a deliberate restraint that concealed considerable technical sophistication.

Select the word that best completes the sentence.

Usage & nuance

Using “malediction” well

A malediction is a spoken curse calling down harm, the formal opposite of a benediction or blessing. It carries an archaic, ceremonial tone.

Common questions

Questions about “malediction”

Malediction (noun) means a curse calling down harm or misfortune on someone
Here is malediction used in an example sentence: "The wronged sorcerer pronounced a malediction on the king and all his descendants." Another example: "The villain in the medieval poem hurls a malediction at the hero, promising ruin to his entire line."
Common synonyms for malediction include curse, imprecation, execration.
Antonyms of malediction include blessing, benediction, praise.
Malediction clusters with curse, imprecation, and execration. Its antonyms blessing and benediction make a clean GRE contrast, since both words share the Latin root for speaking.
Yes. Malediction is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

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