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beshrew

Other forms: beshrewed; beshrewing; beshrews

To beshrew is to invoke a curse on someone. Horrified at discovering an empty baking pan, you might yell, "Beshrew all of you who ate my brownies!"

The verb beshrew is so old fashioned that you're most likely to discover it in a play or poem by Shakespeare, who used it frequently. When the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet says, "Beshrew your heart for sending me about, to catch my death with jaunting up and down!", what she means is "Curse you for making me run around so much!" Beshrew comes from shrew, an animal believed to have a poisonous bite.

Definitions of beshrew
  1. verb
    wish harm upon; invoke evil upon
    synonyms: anathemise, anathemize, bedamn, curse, damn, imprecate, maledict
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    Antonyms:
    bless
    give a benediction to
    type of:
    arouse, bring up, call down, call forth, conjure, conjure up, evoke, invoke, put forward, raise, stir
    summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘beshrew'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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