detestable

American  

[dih-tes-tuh-buhl] / dɪˈtɛs tə bəl /

adjective

1. deserving to be detested; abominable; hateful.

   Synonyms:

   vile , odious , loathsome , abhorrent , execrable

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detestable British  

/ dɪˈtɛstəbəl /

adjective

1. being or deserving to be abhorred or detested; abominable; odious

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Other Word Forms

• detestability noun
• detestableness noun
• detestably adverb
• undetestability noun
• undetestable adjective
• undetestableness noun
• undetestably adverb

Etymology

Origin of detestable

1375–1425; late Middle English < Middle French < Latin dētestābilis, equivalent to dētest ( ārī ) to detest + -ābilis -able

Example Sentences

Decades of lionizing men like Nile Jarvis have made his detestable personality not just easy to spot, but queasily appealing.

From Salon

Eliot would have been incapable of the kind of remark one comes on regularly in Woolf’s diary: “The fact is the lower classes are detestable.”

From The Wall Street Journal

As a former Houstonian, I can attest that the only thing more detestable than a roach is a flying roach.

From Salon

"Knowing the vulgarity of the old world, today I try to avoid being listened to by the new world – so that I don't come across as detestable," he told the court.

From BBC

As the bored trust fund kid Tara, Lohan drew from her experiences withering away in the California sun to craft a character who was detestable but always sympathetic.

From Salon