A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, hex, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, curse may refer to such a wish or pronouncement made effective by a supernatural or spiritual power, such as a god or gods, a spirit, or a natural force, or else as a kind of spell by magic or witchcraft; in the latter sense, a curse can also be called a hex or a jinx. In many belief systems, the curse itself (or accompanying ritual) is considered to have some causative force in the result. To reverse or eliminate a curse is sometimes called removal or breaking, as the spell has to be dispelled, and is often requiring elaborate rituals or prayers.

Curses have also been used as plot devices in literature and theater. When used as a plot device, they involve one character placing a curse or hex over another character. This is distinguished from adverse spells and premonitions and other such plot devices. Examples of the curse as a plot device:

• Curse by a sage : king turned in to a snake –> can only be removed by an avatar of lord vishnu
• Curse by a sage : king turned in to a one eyed demon –> can only be removed by an avatar of lord vishnu that is krishna
• Curse by a sage : forget all his powers ( curse of sage on hanuman to forget all his powers)
• i shall be reborn again to kill my enemy every generation as an assasin (assasins creed )
• Rigoletto— Count Monterone places a curse on Rigoletto. Rigoletto blames the climactic death of his daughter on the curse.
• Romeo and Juliet— A dying Mercutio curses the Montagues and Capulets with A plague 'o both your houses. (Often quoted as a pox on both your houses.)
• Sleeping Beauty — Evil fairy Carabosse (Maleficent in the Disney film) casts a curse on Princess Aurora to die on her 16th birthday.
• Beauty and the Beast — A fairy punishes a conceited prince by transforming him into a hideous beast.
• The Six Swans (and variants) - a mother curses her six (seven, twelve) sons into bird form, and their sister must sew magic shirts to reverse the transformation
• Shrek — Princess Fiona was cursed to be human by day, but ogre by night.
• There Will Be Blood — Daniel Plainview was cursed by Eli Sunday through blessing of Daniel's oil rig and through baptism.
• Drag Me To Hell - Christine Brown was cursed by Sylvia Ganush to experience three days of torture, then the lamia will drag her to hell.