hate

¹

[ heyt ]

verb (used with object)

, hat·ed, hat·ing.

1. to dislike intensely or passionately; feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward; detest:

   to hate the enemy;

   to hate bigotry.

   Synonyms: despise, execrate, loathe

   Antonyms: love

2. to be unwilling; dislike:

   I hate to do it.

verb (used without object)

, hat·ed, hat·ing.

1. to feel intense dislike, or extreme aversion or hostility.

noun

1. intense dislike; extreme aversion or hostility.
2. the object of extreme aversion or hostility.
3. (in a video game) the focus or targeting of an enemy on a player character; enmity; aggro: As a tank, pretty much your number-one priority is getting and holding hate.

   The Black Mage got hate, but it’s really his own fault for casting those level-four spells back to back.

   As a tank, pretty much your number-one priority is getting and holding hate.

adjective

1. noting or relating to acts that are motivated by hatred, prejudice, or intolerance:

   a hate crime;

   a hate group;

   hate mail.

verb phrase

1. Informal. to show hate toward, criticize, or belittle, usually unfairly:

   Don't hate on him just because he wins all the time.

hate-

²

1. a combining form describing something that one does but professes to dislike and that may indicate conflicting love/hate emotions, as in hate-read hate-kiss hate-sex

hate

/ heɪt /

verb

1. to dislike (something) intensely; detest
2. intr to be unwilling (to be or do something)

noun

1. intense dislike
2. informal.
   a person or thing that is hated (esp in the phrase pet hate )
3. modifier expressing or arousing feelings of hatred

   hate mail

Derived Forms

• ˈhateable, adjective

Other Words From

• hat·er noun
• self-hate noun
• un·hat·ed adjective
• un·hat·ing adjective
• un·hat·ing·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of hate¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English hat(i)en, Old English hatian (verb); cognate with Dutch haten, Old Norse hata, Gothic hatan, German hassen

Word History and Origins

Origin of hate¹

Old English hatian; related to Old Norse hata, Old Saxon hatōn, Old High German hazzēn

Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with hate , also see somebody up there loves (hates) me .

Synonym Study

Hate, abhor, detest, abominate imply feeling intense dislike or aversion toward something. Hate, the simple and general word, suggests passionate dislike and a feeling of enmity: to hate autocracy. Abhor expresses a deep-rooted horror and a sense of repugnance or complete rejection: to abhor cruelty; Nature abhors a vacuum. Detest implies intense, even vehement, dislike and antipathy, besides a sense of disdain: to detest a combination of ignorance and arrogance. Abominate expresses a strong feeling of disgust and repulsion toward something thought of as unworthy, unlucky, or the like: to abominate treachery.

Example Sentences

He learned to hate the influence of megacorporations and the culture of consuming cheap goods that he thought they fostered, and he detested the waste and pollution that came with it.

From Salon

But more than anything he had come to hate Hispanic migrants, who had turned his overwhelmingly white town into a nearly-half ethnic one.

From Salon

Here’s where Tanton’s personal history becomes essential to understanding America’s recent resurgence of immigrant hate.

From Salon

We must condemn hate and protect individuals and groups who might be targeted.

From Salon

Brown also filed a lawsuit against Buck, alleging sexual battery, assault, hate violence, emotional distress and human trafficking.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• abhor
• despise
• detest
• loathe
• scorn
• shun