Word Study
whammy
WORDNET DICTIONARY
Noun whammy has 2 senses
- whammy(n = noun.event) Array - a serious or devastating setback; Array is a kind of black eye, blow, reversal, reverse, setback
- whammy(n = noun.communication) curse, hex, jinx - an evil spell; "a witch put a curse on his whole family"; "he put the whammy on me" is a kind of charm, magic spell, magical spell, spell
OXFORD DICTIONARY
whammy, n. (pl. -ies) US colloq. an evil or unlucky influence.
Etymology
20th c.: orig. unkn.
THESAURUS
whammy
Jonah, amulet, anathema, bad blood, bad influence, bad temper, bad will, ban, bedroom eyes, blasphemy, blighting glance, bring bad luck, cantrip, charm, come-hither look, commination, curse, damnation, denunciation, enchantment, evil disposition, evil eye, evil genius, evil star, excommunication, execration, exorcism, fetish, fulmination, fylfot, gammadion, gape, gaze, glad eye, glamour, glare, glower, glowering look, goggle, good-luck charm, hex, hoodoo, ill nature, ill will, ill wind, ill-disposedness, imprecation, jinx, juju, love charm, lucky bean, lucky piece, madstone, magic spell, malevolence, malevolent influence, malison, malocchio, mascot, mumbo jumbo, obeah, ogle, penetrating look, periapt, philter, phylactery, proscription, scarab, scarabaeus, scarabee, spell, stare, sudarium, swastika, talisman, thundering, veronica, voodoo, wanga, weird
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