What does "imprecation" mean?

The act of imprecating, or invoking evil upon someone; a prayer that a curse or calamity may befall someone.

What is a synonym for "imprecation"?

Common synonyms include: curse, abuse, adjuration, anathema, appeal, application.

Pronounced //ˌɪm.pɹɪˈkeɪ.ʃən//.

//ˌɪm.pɹɪˈkeɪ.ʃən// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The act of imprecating, or invoking evil upon someone; a prayer that a curse or calamity may befall someone. countable, uncountable
"Hear then this dreadful imprecation; hear it: / 'Tis lay'd on all; not any one exempt: […]"
2
the act of calling down a curse that invokes evil (and usually serves as an insult) wordnet
3
A curse. countable, uncountable
"Mr. Gamfield growled a fierce imprecation on the donkey generally, but more particularly on his eyes; and, running after him, bestowed a blow on his head."
4
a slanderous accusation wordnet

"Hear then this dreadful imprecation; hear it: / 'Tis lay'd on all; not any one exempt: […]"

Learned borrowing from Latin imprecātiō (“calling down of curses”), from imprecor (“call down, invoke”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.