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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. interj. Used to express anger, surprise, or indignation.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. An exclamation formerly used as an oath or as an expression of anger or wonder.

Wiktionary

  1. interj. Expressing anger, surprise, assertion etc.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. interj. An exclamation formerly used as an oath, and an expression of anger or wonder.

Etymologies

  1. Shortening and alteration of God's wounds!.

Examples

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Lists

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  • ruzuzu "I had noticed a strange apparition there and hoped to see it again--a tall woman sitting alone, dressed in what I took to be the height of fashion. One day she reappeared. She wore a hat resembling a nest on which an exotic bird was resting, and an elaborate dress of what I think used to be called 'changeable satin,' blues and greens of a peacock's feathers intermingling. Before eating it was necessary that she remove her gloves and raise her veil with gestures of apparently uncalculated grace. Zounds! What was this?"

    --Theophilus North by Thornton Wilder Sep 4, 2010
  • minerva Compare Oons (also God's wounds) Oct 11, 2007
  • reesetee And how about bloody (thought to have come from "by Our Lady")? Jul 19, 2007
  • arby Compare crikey ("Christ kill me") and blimey ("God blind me"). I forgot about this one tho. Jul 18, 2007
  • sionnach God's wounds! Feb 14, 2007

‘zounds’ has been looked up 2204 times, loved by 4 people, added to 52 lists, commented on 5 times, and has a Scrabble score of 16.