What does "bane" mean?
A cause of misery or ruin.
Bane
/beɪn/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A cause of misery or ruin.
- Grammar: bane is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: curse, scourge, abomination, affliction.
- Useful contrasts: advantage, antidote, benefit.
- Usage evidence: Unconscionable Love, bane and tormentor of mankind, parent of strife, fountain of tears, source of a thousand ills.
How to use "bane"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bane" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bane" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bane" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bane" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
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- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
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- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bane" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "curse" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bane", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A cause of misery or ruin. countable
"the bane of one’s existence"
- 2 Alternative spelling of bone. Scotland, alt-of, alternative, transitive
"If meate or drinke thou never gavest nane, / Every night and alle: / The fire will burn thee to the bare bane; / And Christe receive thye saule."
- 3 something causing misery or death wordnet
- 4 Chiefly in the names of poisonous plants or substances: a poison. archaic, countable
"For my part I would rather counſell you to deſtroy your Rattes and Miſe with Traps, Banes, or Weeſels: for beſides the ſluttiſhneſſe & lothſomeneſſe of the Catte (you know what ſhe layes in the Malt heape) ſhe is moſt daungerous and pernicious among children, as I mee ſelf haue had good experience."
- 5 Misery, woe; also, doom, ruin; or physical injury, harm. poetic, uncountable
"Hath ſome fond lover tic'd [i.e., enticed] thee to thy bane? / And vvilt thou leave the Church, and love a ſtie?"
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A disease of sheep in which breakdown of tissue occurs; rot. UK, dialectal, uncountable
- 7 A person or thing that causes death or destruction; a killer, a murderer, a slayer. countable, obsolete
"We haue alſo had experience yͭ the deſire of a kingdõe [kingdome] knoweth no kindred. The brother hath bene the brothers bane."
- 8 Death; destruction; (countable) an instance of this. obsolete, uncountable
"I vvill not be affraid of Death and Bane, / Till Birnane Forreſt come to Dunſinane."
Verb
- 1 To physically injure (someone or something); to harm, to hurt. archaic, transitive
"Think when thou ſéeſt the baite whereon is thy delite, / That hidden Hookes are hard at hande to bane thee when thou bite."
- 2 To cause (someone) misery or ruin; to socially or spiritually injure (someone). archaic, figuratively, transitive
"It [covetousness] annoyeth our Phiſitions, it infecteth our Diuines, it choaketh our Lawiers, it woundeth our Farmers, it baneth our Gentlemen, it murdereth our Tradeſmen, it bewitcheth our Merchants, it ſtingeth our Marriners. Oh couetouſneſſe, couetouſneſſe: it is the poyſon of all things, the wound of Chriſtianitie, the bane of all goodneſſe."
- 3 To cause (sheep) a disease, especially the rot (“a disease in which breakdown of tissue occurs”). UK, dialectal, transitive
- 4 To kill (a person or animal), especially by poison. obsolete, transitive
"Aconit is of two ſortes (as Dioſcorides writeth) the one is named Aconitum Pardalianches, that is to ſay, Aconite that baneth, or killeth Panthers."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"Unconscionable Love, bane and tormentor of mankind, parent of strife, fountain of tears, source of a thousand ills."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bane"?
Common synonyms include: curse, scourge, abomination, affliction, annihilation, atrocity.
How do you use "bane" in a sentence?
Unconscionable Love, bane and tormentor of mankind, parent of strife, fountain of tears, source of a thousand ills.
How do you pronounce "bane"?
Pronounced /beɪn/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
The noun is derived from Middle English bane (“person or thing that destroys life, murderer, slayer; person who destroys the soul; destruction of life, death, doom; poison”), from Old English bana (“person or thing that causes death, murderer”), from Proto-West Germanic *banō, from Proto-Germanic *banô (“killer, murderer, slayer; death, bane”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- (“to slay, kill; to strike”). The verb is derived from the noun. cognates * Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌽𐌾𐌰 (banja, “wound”) * Old Frisian bona (“death; murder”) * Old Norse bani (Danish bane (“death; murder”), Icelandic bani (“bane, death”), Swedish bane (“death; murder”)), Old Norse ben (“(moral) wound”) * Old English ben, benn (“mortal injury; wound”) * Old High German bano (“death”) (Middle High German ban, bane) * Old Saxon bano (“death; murder”), beni (“mortal injury; wound”)
Etymology 2
From Northern Middle English ban, from bon (“bone”), from Old English bān, from Proto-West Germanic *bain (“bone; leg”), from Proto-Germanic *bainą (“bone; leg”), from *bainaz (“straight”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to glow, shine”) (in the sense of a straight beam of light), or *bʰeyh₂- (“to hit, strike”) (in the sense of an object for striking), or *bʰeyH-n- (“pole; straight line”).
Etymology 3
* As an English surname, from the archaic noun bane (“murderer”). * As an English, Scottish, and Irish surname, variant of Bain. * As a French surname, from the noun banne (“wicker basket”).