Avada Kedavra

English

Etymology

Verbalization of the incantation of the killing curse in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Rowling has stated that it is from Aramaic עַבְדָא כְּדַבְרָא (avda kedavra, literally “what was said has been done”), calling it “the original of abracadabra, which means ‘let the thing be destroyed’”; compare Hebrew עַבְרָא כְּדַבְרָא (avra kedavra, literally “what was said has come to pass”). In fact, a relationship of these terms with abracadabra (of unknown origin) has been suggested, but there is little supporting evidence.

Verb

Avada Kedavra (third-person singular simple present Avada Kedavras, present participle Avada Kedavra-ing, simple past and past participle Avada Kedavra'd or Avada Kedavraed)

1. (transitive, intransitive, humorous) To use the killing curse from the Harry Potter series on (someone), causing immediate death.
   • 2011 August 16, Kevin Kryah, “Harry ends on a high note”, in Samantha Strong, editor, Cub Reporter, volume 63, number 1, Indianapolis, Ind.: Lawrence Central High School, page 13, column 1:

     There isn’t much point in trying to attack this, the final installment in the epic saga of Harry Potter; everyone in the civilized world has already seen it, and all of the die-hard HP fans won’t accept even the slightest criticism of the movies, save for the degree to which they differ from the books. However, at the time of this writing, HP-fever has died down and I can now give this movie a fair examination, free from the scornful “avada kedavra-ing” of fanboys and fangirls.

   • 2012, Charlie Wilson, A Seriously Useful Author’s Guide to Writing a Marketable Book, Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire: Troubador Publishing Ltd, →ISBN, page 136:

     If Harry Potter was a vicious hooligan, we’d quite happily accept Voldermort^[sic] Avada-Kedavra-ing him.

   • 2013, J.C. Daniels [pseudonym; Shiloh Walker], chapter 10, in Broken Blade (Colbana Files), →ISBN, part 1 (Broken):

     If I was Harry Potter, I would have Avada Kedavraed your ass straight into hell.

   • 2013 November 6, David Shuck, “The weather outside doesn’t have to be frightful”, in André Rouillard, editor, The Vanderbilt Hustler, volume 125, number 44, page 6, column 3:

     There are challenges — like Ravenclaw egos, Voldemort’s avada kedavra-ing, the Malfoys’ bullying, the stress of exams and the frigidity of weather which can make lecture halls seem more like igloos — but these challenges become much more manageable when undertaken alongside others with whom one identifies and empathizes.

   • 2016 April 1, Skeeter Reeter bo Beeter [pseudonym], “Professor Rewarded for Taking Revenge on Slacking Students”, in The Wilson Bullboard, Chambersburg, Pa.: Wilson College, page 4, columns 2–3:

     “One day I walked into my classroom to find every single student snoring. The noise…I finally snapped. I waved my hand and turned them all into blue-footed bubis**.” / News traveled across campus quickly, eliciting an immediate response from both faculty and students. / “I love it!” said one professor who wished not to be named. “That’s thinking outside the box! Personally, I would have avada kedavra’d the whole lot of them. But I suppose it’s a start.”

     **Editor’s note: It says “bubis,” not “boobies.” Quit being juvenile!

   • 2018, Irvin Khaytman, “Albus Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix”, in The Life and Lies of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, 2nd edition, Story Spring Publishing, →ISBN:

     Voldemort remains a performer throughout the entire series, and his theatricality becomes his predictability (though he learns enough to Avada Kedavra Harry immediately in Deathly Hallows and go through the theatrics after the threat has been nullified).

   • 2018 August 22–28, “Best Magical Queue”, in Jessica Bryce Young, editor, Best of Orlando 2018 (Orlando Weekly), Orlando, Fla.: Euclid Media Group, page 137:

     Theme park lines occupy – or, really, are – a special place in hell, especially the ones in Central Florida, where standing under the Florida sun usually results in enough back sweat to fill a kiddie pool. One place, though, stops us from Avada Kedavra-ing ourselves – the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. With meticulous attention to detail and the Harry Potter canon, Universal engineers have created immersive waiting areas that are just as magically engaging as the ride itself.

   • 2019 August 28, Emily Roach, Rebecca Rahme, “Adrian”, in The Uprising, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, →ISBN:

     He is standing again, pacing around the apartment lobby, scared, like some wizard is going to Avada Kedavra him into oblivion.

   • 2021, C. T. Phipps, Michael Suttkus, “A Nightmare on Elk Street”, in The Bright Falls Mysteries Saga, Mystique Press, →ISBN:

     Have faith in yourself, Jane. You are more dangerous than you know. / I tried to believe that. Of course, it would have been easier to believe if not for the fact I had to turn into a deer to duck out of the way of Jones pulling out a wand then firing glowing balls of hellish fire at me. / “You are not going to Avada Kedavra me, Hermione!” I shouted. / Alex engaged Visigoth in battle and it was hard to tell who was winning, since the two thousand-year-old vampire moved faster than the eye could see.

2. (transitive, humorous, figurative) To destroy (something).
   • 2011 December 5, UWM Post, volume 56, number 13, Milwaukee, Wis.: University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee:

     Better be careful, witch, it sounds like he’s about to Avada Kedavra this relationship.

   • 2015 October 2, “The Bullseye”, in Henry Goldblatt, editor, Entertainment Weekly, number 1383, New York, N.Y.: Entertainment Weekly Inc., →ISSN, page 80:

     Hermione Granger just turned 36, in case your childhood hasn’t already been Avada Kedavra’d into oblivion.

   • 2018 December, Adam K. Dean, “Git, Configuration Management, and Infrastructure as Code”, in Linux Administration Cookbook: Insightful Recipes to Work with System Administration Tasks on Linux, Birmingham, West Midlands: Packt Publishing Ltd., →ISBN, page 637:

     Now, if you accidentally run terraform destroy against prod, and it also takes the data with it, you’ve done more than just flipped the boxes off. They’re gone, kaput, Avada Kedavra’d, so be careful. We have these tools to make our lives easier, but sometimes I wonder if we’re not also giving ourselves the capability for so much more accidental destruction.

   • 2019, Gloria Chao, “Shit”, in Our Wayward Fate, New York, N.Y.: Simon Pulse, published 2020, →ISBN, page 73:

     Despite our being confined in a boring-ass town whose main attraction was the fucking hardware store because it had begun serving steak-and-cheese sandwiches, Chase had planned the perfect date, only for my mother to Avada Kedavra it.

   • 2020 summer, The Quibbler‎^[2]:

     ‘[…] And it hit me. That poem just reached inside of me, tore my heart out, and Avada Kedavra’d it!’ It is a very emotional poem, to be sure.