pronunciation - What determines how 'cursed' (as an attributive adjective) is pronounced?


'Cursed' can be pronouced '/kɜːrst/' or '/ˈkɜːrsɪd/'. As far as I am aware, when used as the past tense of the verb 'to curse' it is always the former ('He stubbed his toe and cursed'). When used as an adjective the former is used for the predicative ('This house is cursed') but either can be used for the attributive ('This cursed house'); to me , as a native English speaker, /ˈkɜːrsɪd/ has an old-fashioned feel; most of the examples I can think of are Shakespearean or religious. When should each of these pronunciations be used for 'cursed' as an attributive adjective? Nowadays, is /ˈkɜːrsɪd/ simply used when someone wants something to sound dramatic and portentous, or is there more to it than that?


The OED, Cambridge and Merriam-Webster definitions each list both pronunciations but don't provide guidance on when to use each; the Oxford Learner's Dictionary, interestingly, claims the first pronunciation is used when something is literally under a curse, while the second is for metaphorical usage (describing something unpleasant or annoying). This would be a nice straightforward rule but it doesn't sound correct to me.


(This question was prompted by one over on 'Science Fiction and Fantasy' about how to pronounce 'The Cursed Child').




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