Unbless

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To withdraw or reverse a blessing that was previously given to a person, object, or place
2. Taking away the sacred favor or consecration once conferred on someone or something
3. Removing the divine approval or holy status that an earlier blessing had bestowed

Etymology: "Unbless" is a verb meaning to withdraw a blessing, and it is built in the plainest way possible: the reversing prefix "un-" attached to "bless." The prefix "un-" comes from Old English and has long been used to reverse or undo an action, as in "undo," "unlock," or "untie." Adding it to "bless" produces a word whose sense is the exact opposite of the original. The base verb "bless" has its own history worth knowing. It descends from Old English "blētsian," meaning to consecrate or make holy, and that word was formed from "blōd," meaning blood, because early consecration rituals involved sprinkling or marking objects with blood. Over the centuries the sense softened into the general idea of invoking divine favour, and "bless" came to be used in everyday speech for everything from sneezes to good fortune. "Unbless" takes that whole idea and reverses it: rather than conferring divine favour, it describes taking that favour away.

Synonyms: curse, anathematize

Antonyms: bless