bane

(bān)
n.

1. Fatal injury or ruin: "Hath some fond lover tic'd thee to thy bane?" (George Herbert).
2. 1. A cause of harm, ruin, or death: "Obedience,/Bane of all genius, virtue, freedom, truth,/Makes slaves of men" (Percy Bysshe Shelley).
   2. A source of persistent annoyance or exasperation: "The spellings of foreign names are often the bane of busy copy editors" (Norm Goldstein).
3. A deadly poison.

[Middle English, destroyer, from Old English bana.]

View more Literature & Language videos

noun

1. The act of destroying or state of being destroyed: destruction, devastation, havoc, ruin, ruination, undoing, wrack, wreck, wreckage. See help/harm/harmless, leftover.
2. Anything that is injurious, destructive, or fatal: canker, contagion, poison, toxin, venom, virus. See help/harm/harmless.
3. Something that causes total loss or severe impairment, as of one's health, fortune, honor, or hopes: destroyer, destruction, downfall, ruin, ruination, undoing, wrecker. See help/harm/harmless.
4. A cause of suffering or harm: affliction, curse, evil, ill, plague, scourge, woe. See help/harm/harmless.

n

Definition: cause of misery
Antonyms: advantage, blessing, fortune, good luck

For a list of words related to bane, see:

• Intrigues, Plots, and Corruption - bane: curse; source of harm
• Fate - bane: source of ruin or destruction

---

See words rhyming with "bane."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Bane.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - ruin, ulykke

Nederlands (Dutch)
(oorzaak van) ondergang, vergif, vergiftigen

Français (French)
n. - fléau, peste, poison

Deutsch (German)
n. - Tod , Ruin

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - φαρμάκι, πηγή δεινών, συμφορά, κακό

Italiano (Italian)
sventura, veleno

Português (Portuguese)
n. - veneno (m), destruição (f)

Русский (Russian)
разрушение, гибель, бич Божий

Español (Spanish)
n. - perdición, ruina

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - fördärv, undergång, förbannelse, ruin

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
克星, 祸根, 毁灭, 灾害, 死亡

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 剋星, 禍根, 毀滅, 災害, 死亡

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 독, 죽음

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 害毒, 災い

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مصيبه, مجلبه الشقاء او الخراب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮קללה, הרס, ארס‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.