How do you use the word "bane" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "bane": Mosquitoes are the bane of my existence. This cat is the bane of my life.

Bane Meaning

/beɪn/

Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounA cause of misery or ruin.

nounChiefly in the names of poisonous plants or substances: a poison.

Sentence Examples

Mosquitoes are the bane of my existence.

This cat is the bane of my life.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

curse nemesis scourge

Antonyms:

None

CEFR Practice Quiz

The persistent mosquitoes were the ____ of our otherwise pleasant camping trip.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

Constant noise from the neighbors was the ____ of his existence.

Word Origin & History

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *banô Proto-West Germanic *banō Old English bana Middle English bane English bane The noun is derived from Middle English bane (“person or thing that destroys life, murderer, slayer; person who destroys the soul; destruction of life, death, doom; poison”), from Old English bana (“person or thing that causes death, murderer”), from Proto-West Germanic *banō, from Proto-Germanic *banô (“killer, murderer, slayer; death, bane”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- (“to slay, kill; to strike”). The verb is derived from the noun. cognates * Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌽𐌾𐌰 (banja, “wound”) * Old Frisian bona (“death; murder”) * Old Norse bani (Danish bane (“death; murder”), Icelandic bani (“bane, death”), Swedish bane (“death; murder”)), Old Norse ben (“(moral) wound”) * Old English ben, benn (“mortal injury; wound”) * Old High German bano (“death”) (Middle High German ban, bane) * Old Saxon bano (“death; murder”), beni (“mortal injury; wound”)

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"Money, thou bane of bliſſe, & ſourſe of vvo, / VVhence com'ſt thou, that thou art ſo freſh and fine? / I knovv thy parentage is baſe and lovv: / Man found thee poore and dirtie in a mine." — [1633], George Herbert, “Avarice”, in [Nicholas Ferrar], editor, The Temple. Sacred Poems, and Private Ejaculations, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Thomas Buck and Roger Daniel; and are to be sold by Francis Green, […], →OCLC, page 69:

"This is the great bane and ſcandal of the Church, that ſuch Livings as more immediately belong to it ſhould be the vvorſt ſupplyed, […]" — 1673, Andrew Marvel[l], The Rehearsall Transpros’d: The Second Part. […], London: […] Nathaniel Ponder […], →OCLC, page 148:

"All that I apprehend is, that dear Numps will be angry I have published these lines [of his poem]; not that he has any reason [to] be ashamed of them, but for fear of those rogues, the bane to all excellent performances, the imitators." — 1709 May 10 (Gregorian calendar), Isaac Bickerstaff [et al., pseudonyms; Richard Steele], “Friday, April 30, 1709”, in The Tatler, number 9; republished in [Richard Steele], editor, The Tatler, […], London stereotype edition, volume I, London: I. Walker and Co.; […], 1822, →OCLC, page 55:

"She, who had been the bane of his life, blighting his hope, and awarding him, for love and domestic happiness, long mourning and cheerless solitude, he treated with the respect a good son might offer a kind mother." — 1853 January, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], “Malevola”, in Villette. […], volume III, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, pages 143–144:

"At Barking, previously the bane of L.T.S. operating staff, the new works have now simplified the working of traffic from four converging routes in the area." — 1961 September, B. Perren, “The Tilbury Line Serves Industrial North Thameside”, in Modern Railways, Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 556:

Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words