detestation

[ dee-te-stey-shuhn ]

noun

1. abhorrence; hatred.
2. a person or thing detested.

detestation

/ ˌdiːtɛsˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. intense hatred; abhorrence
2. a person or thing that is detested

Word History and Origins

Origin of detestation¹

1375–1425; late Middle English (< Middle French ) < Latin dētestātiōn- (stem of dētestātiō ), equivalent to dētestāt ( us ) (past participle of dētestārī to detest; -ate ¹ ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

The 81-year-old president generally seems like a grandfatherly figure predisposed to give people the benefit of the doubt, which makes his detestation of Trump all the more striking.

From Salon

In a perpetually changing world, the limitless capacity of France’s political factions’ mutual detestation is a constant.

From Washington Post

In my son’s democratic universe, I had hoped they could transcend detestation.

From Washington Post

“Divided We Fall” by David French, published weeks before the 2020 election, pictures the cleaving of the United States into two culturally distinct states, united only in their mutual detestation.

From Washington Post

Pain, shame, ire, impatience, disgust, detestation, seemed momentarily to hold a quivering conflict in the large pupil dilating under his ebon eyebrow.

From Literature