loath

American  

[lohth, lohth] / loʊθ, loʊð /

Or loth

adjective

1. unwilling; reluctant; disinclined; averse.

   to be loath to admit a mistake.

   Antonyms:

   eager

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loath British  

/ ləʊθ /

adjective

1. (usually foll by to) reluctant or unwilling

2. willing

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Usage

What’s the difference between loath and loathe? Loath is an adjective that means unwilling, reluctant, or disinclined, as in They are loath to get involved in such a messy situation. Loathe is a verb that means to hate or feel extreme disgust toward, as in I loathe the way he treats his dog or My kids loathe broccoli.  Loathe always rhymes with the verb clothe. Loath can be pronounced this way, but it can also rhyme with both.Loath is only ever used as an adjective, and loathe is only ever used as a verb. Both words are generally negative, but loathe is much more negative. Loathe is also the more common of the two words.The word loathsome is an adjective form of the verb loathe that means causing feelings of loathing—disgusting or revolting. You would describe someone you loathe as loathsome.Loath is usually followed by the word to and a verb, as in I’m loath to drive that far.To remember that the verb loathe ends with an e, remember that it means the same thing as hate, which also ends with an e.Here’s an example of loath and loathe used correctly in a sentence.Example: I’m loath to think about how much he must loathe me.Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between loath and loathe.

Related Words

See reluctant.

Other Word Forms

• loathness noun
• overloath adjective
• unloath adjective
• unloathly adverb

Etymology

Origin of loath

First recorded before 900; Middle English loth, lath, Old English lāth “hostile, hateful”; cognate with Dutch leed, German leid “sorry,” Old Norse leithr “hateful”

Example Sentences

With the man on death’s door, Woodhall was loath to operate; after all, amputation was dangerous business.

From The Wall Street Journal

Frustrated with the scrutiny and the games he had to play for Wall Street, Musk long ago told SpaceX employees he was loath to take the company public.

From The Wall Street Journal

Students in writing workshops are loath to honestly criticize each other’s work, especially if the writer belongs to a sacrosanct group.

From The Wall Street Journal

Solorzano is loath to talk about her time away, saying she does not like to call it hiding but rather "shelter."

From Barron's

Once seen as volatile, software came to be viewed by Wall Street as the paragon of stability, because businesses seemed loath to switch products once they became embedded in their workstreams.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• afraid
• hesitant
• reluctant
• unwilling