The Gemara on Amud Aleph continues discussing words implying oaths, noting arur can mean ostracism (niduy), curse (klallah), or oath (shevuah), depending on context. 

Kli Yakkar (Bereishis 12:3) uses the distinction between kellalah and arur to better explain a verse. God promises Avraham’s:

I will (avarcha) bless those who bless you (mevarachecha) And curse (a-or) the one who curses you (mekallelcha);

Kli Yakkar asks why does the verse switch words? First we have “I will bless those who bless you”, using same word, blessing those who bless him, but then it states: “And curse (a-or) the one who curses you (mekallelcha);” Why not state, “And curse (a-or) me-ararecha the one who curses you (me-ararecha instead of mekalelecha). He asks a similar question on a verse in Shmuel (II:2:30) which states: “For I honor (echaved) those who honor Me (mechabdai) , but those who spurn Me (ubozai) shall be defamed (yekalu).” Here too, the verse starts with “For I honor those who honor Me”, which keeps the word honor (chavod) as the action and consequence, but concludes with “but those who spurn Me (ubozai) shall be defamed (yekalu).”, which switches words from spurn to defame.

Kli Yakkar suggests that the three Hebrew words that are relatively synonymous with embarrassment and disgrace are on a continuum of severity. Thus bizayon is a kind of disgrace that is more passive; it is not giving the authority the reverence it is due. Kellalah is midrange and more active in its level of contempt; somewhere between bizayon and arur. But arur is a utter debasement (much as in our Gemara it encompasses many terms because it is so sweeping.) Using this we can understand that humiliation and disease is relative to the actor and acted upon. This is why in Shmuel I God says those “who spurn me” (bozai), which albeit is a mild action because no one is big enough to affect God, so it is mild from God’s perspective but still will suffer a stronger retributive degradation (yekalu) because, after all, they disrespected God. Similarly, God says to Avraham, even those who curse you (mekallelcha) which is mid range in its contempt, will suffer retribution of utter disgrace (arur) due to my protection over you.

When one culture has a word for a specific relationship or experience that others do not, or has numerous subtle synonyms, it highlights the importance or frequency of that concept in the culture. An example of a unique word is m’shakela, found in Lashon Kodesh, describing a parent who has lost a child, distinct from other types of loss (see Shemos 23:26 and Bereishis 27:45). Arabic has a similar word, thakla, which appears related to the Hebrew m’shakela. In English, there is no specific term for a parent who has lost a child. In German, the term “verwaiste eltern” (orphaned parent) is used. Sanskrit has a term, vilomah, for this loss.

The presence of these terms in certain languages reflects how these cultures experience relationships and losses. In contrast, Western cultures often lack these terms, suggesting that marriage and extended family may be seen as less central to individual life.

In this case, the variety of terms that express forms of disrespect, disgrace, contempt, and noting how it is on a continuum and related to cursing and oaths show a culture that invests heavily in the idea of hierarchy, honor and dignity. The disconnection from people is the loss of honor, or the loss of honor causes disconnection, and a disconnection leads to spiritual destruction as well, which eventually leads to being what we would call “cursed“.