abhor
Americanverb (used with object)
-
abhors,
present (3rd person singular)
-
abhorred,
past participle, past
-
abhorring
present participle
verb
Synonym Usage
See hate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
abhorsimple
-
abhorssimple
-
have abhorredperfect
-
has abhorredperfect
-
am abhorringprogressive
-
are abhorringprogressive
-
is abhorringprogressive
-
have been abhorringperfect progressive
-
has been abhorringperfect progressive
Past
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abhorredsimple
-
had abhorredperfect
-
was abhorringprogressive
-
were abhorringprogressive
-
had been abhorringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of abhor
First recorded before 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin abhorrēre “to shrink back from, shudder at,” equivalent to ab- ab- + horrēre “to bristle, tremble”
Explanation
If you abhor something, it gives you a feeling of complete hatred. Chances are you abhor that kid who used to torture the frogs in biology class. Abhor is from Latin abhorrere — "to shrink back in horror." It is the strongest way in English to express hatred, even stronger than loathe. We only use abhor in formal contexts; you might say "I abhor that man," but you would be less likely to say "I abhor spinach" unless you tend to express yourself in highfalutin terms no matter what the occasion.
Vocabulary lists containing abhor
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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Grade 9, List 1
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Romeo and Juliet
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And when he saw his grip slipping, he turned to the type of sheer hatred he otherwise claimed to abhor.
From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026
This isn’t a threat, but a reality I feel I need to convey explicitly, because as a diplomat and a veteran, I abhor war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026
Briloff would say that markets abhor uncertainty, and less frequent reporting only adds more.
From Barron's ● Nov. 26, 2025
“We abhor and condemn antisemitism in any form,” the California Teachers Assn., wrote in a July letter to the state Senate Education Committee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025
“I abhor that girl! I abhorred her all my life and I do not know how to stop to abhor her.”
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
“Nature abhors a vacuum, and really, the only person who can speak for the committee is the chair,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
While Mrs. Bennet abhors glasses on women, Mary embraces them, the better to read her books with.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026
During the conversation, Muir makes it clear he abhors crowded trades.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 22, 2026
While he abhors actors who think “mumbling is interesting,” he doesn’t overwhelm younger actors who ask for advice with too much detail.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2025
He says that when a species becomes extinct, some other species moves in to fill up the ecological niche, because Nature abhors a vacuum.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
He was a political progressive who abhorred radicalism, an antimonopolist who recognized the inevitability of large corporations and chose to regulate rather than ban them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
He added, though, “I very much abhorred Jan. 6. There’s no cause for violence.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2024
He was also a silver-tongued intellectual who abhorred boorish thinking and behavior and savored debates with the sharpest minds of his era.
From New York Times ● Apr. 9, 2024
Senators, Sandvine later announced that it would no longer work with Belarus, saying that it abhorred “the use of technology to suppress the free flow of information resulting in human rights violations.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 29, 2024
In word and act impeccable, disinterested toward all the realm—though it is king’s justice to hold one man abhorred and love another; no man alive could say Odysseus wronged him.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
He was a fighter for poor minorities, abhorring the gang violence that had taken over in his adopted home of Los Angeles and working for decades to help disadvantaged inner-city kids.
From Washington Times ● May 20, 2023
Kennedy sought liberal outcomes while abhorring instability and uncertainty.
From Slate ● May 27, 2017
Politically, he remained exceptionally conservative, abhorring social unrest and invariably supporting law and order.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 18, 2017
The libretto, by Mr. Morrison and John Cox, an opera director and Wilde scholar, is a high-minded affair, preaching tolerance and abhorring bigotry at every turn.
From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2013
We who abide by the laws are surely justified in shunning, in abhorring, those who deliberately break them.
From The Benefactress by Elizabeth
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
