darned

[dahrnd] /dɑrnd/
adjective
1.
irritating; damned; confounded:
Get that darned bicycle out of the driveway!
adverb
2.
very; extremely; remarkably:
She's a darned good tennis player.
Origin
1800-10; euphemism for damned, perhaps by construing dern dark, dreary (now obsolete) as an intensifier in phrases such as dern and dreary, dern and doleful
Related forms
undarned, adjective
well-darned, adjective

darn1

[dahrn] /dɑrn/
verb (used with object)
1.
to mend, as torn clothing, with rows of stitches, sometimes by crossing and interweaving rows to span a gap.
noun
2.
a darned place, as in a garment:
an old sock full of darns.
Origin
1590-1600; perhaps to be identified with Middle English dernen to keep secret, conceal, Old English (Anglian) dernan
Synonyms
1. See mend.

darn2

[dahrn] /dɑrn/
adjective, adverb
1.
darned.
verb (used with object)
2.
to curse; damn:
Darn that pesky fly!
Idioms
3.
give a darn. damn (def 13).
Origin
1775-85; see darned
Examples from the web for darned
  • Some of those authors are smarter than their books, but some of those books are darned good.
  • The problem with coal ash is, there is so darned much of it.
  • There's one thing you can say for yodeling: acoustically, it's pretty darned distinctive.
  • We stopped spewing sulfur for some darned good reasons.
  • Yet that darned punctuate evolution seems to be taking us in the wrong direction.
  • Why do electric cars always have to look so darned futuristic.
  • And the agents on the phone are frequently so darned bad.
  • They blend science with a lot of time on the water by a lot of darned good anglers.
  • Nor is health insurance a right, but it's darned expensive.
  • There was a lot of smoke and fires going off all over the darned place.
British Dictionary definitions for darned

darned

/dɑːnd/
adverb, adjective (slang)
1.
(intensifier): this darned car won't start, a darned good shot
adjective
2.
another word for damned (sense 2), damned (sense 3)

darn1

/dɑːn/
verb
1.
to mend (a hole or a garment) with a series of crossing or interwoven stitches
noun
2.
a patch of darned work on a garment
3.
the process or act of darning
Derived Forms
darner, noun
darning, noun
Word Origin
C16: probably from French (Channel Islands dialect) darner; compare Welsh, Breton darn piece

darn2

/dɑːn/
interjection, adjective, adverb, noun
1.
a euphemistic word for damn (sense 1), damn (sense 2), damn (sense 4), damn (sense 4), damn (sense 15)
Word Origin and History for darned

darn

v.

"to mend" c.1600, perhaps from Middle French darner "mend," from darne "piece," from Breton darn "piece, fragment, part." Alternative etymology is from obsolete dern (see dern). Related: Darned; darning.

interj.

tame curse word, 1781, American English euphemism for damn, said to have originated in New England when swearing was a punishable offense; if so, its spread was probably influenced by 'tarnal, short for Eternal, as in By the Eternal (God), favorite exclamation of Andrew Jackson, among others. Related: darned (past participle adjective, 1806); darndest (superlative, 1844).

Slang definitions & phrases for darned

darned

Related Terms

i'll be damned


darn

adjective

(also darned or darnfoolor derned or durned) Wretched; nasty; silly: sentimental songs, darnfool ditties, revival hymns

adverb

: She was darn excited

interjection

(also darn it or dern it or durn it) An exclamation of disappointment, irritation, frustration, etc: Darn, I've dropped my glockenspiel!

[1780s+; euphemism for damn, which is regarded by some as taboo; probably based on earlier darnation, ''damnation,'' attested by 1798]