hateful

[ heyt-fuhl ]

adjective

1. arousing hate or deserving to be hated:

   the hateful oppression of dictators.

   Synonyms: loathsome, invidious, repugnant, abhorrent, execrable, abominable

   Antonyms: commendable, praiseworthy, agreeable, likable

2. unpleasant; dislikable; distasteful:

   She found her domestic chores hateful.

3. full of or expressing hate malignant; malevolent:

   a hateful denunciatory speech.

hateful

/ ˈheɪtfʊl /

adjective

1. causing or deserving hate; loathsome; detestable
2. full of or showing hate

Derived Forms

• ˈhatefulness, noun
• ˈhatefully, adverb

Other Words From

• hateful·ly adverb
• hateful·ness noun
• un·hateful adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hateful¹

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; hate, -ful

Synonym Study

Hateful, obnoxious, odious, offensive refer to something that causes strong dislike or annoyance. Hateful implies actually causing hatred or extremely strong dislike: The sight of him is hateful to me. Obnoxious emphasizes causing annoyance or discomfort by objectionable qualities: His persistence made him seem obnoxious. His piggish manners made him obnoxious to his companions. Odious emphasizes the disagreeable or displeasing: an odious little man; odious servility. Offensive emphasizes the distaste and resentment caused by something that may be either displeasing or insulting: an offensive odor, remark.

Example Sentences

It's the latest example of how the mainstream GOP has embraced a tactic that hateful trolls first developed online during the "Gamergate" fiasco of 2014 and has become a favorite tool of the far-right for recruitment and radicalization: selecting random, innocent people to dangle out to their audiences as the hate object of the day.

From Salon

Her followers, whipped into a hateful frenzy, flood the victim du jour with hateful messages and often escalate to offline contact of harassing phone calls and bomb threats.

From Salon

"Chelsea Football Club is aware of recent unacceptable and hateful homophobic comments published across various social media platforms," the club said.

From BBC

Chelsea have condemned the "unacceptable and hateful homophobic comments" aimed at Sam Kerr and Kristie Mewis after the couple said they are expecting a baby.

From BBC

"It's heartbreaking and infuriating to see social media flooded with hateful comments when we should be celebrating love, pride, and unity," it said.

From BBC

Related Words

• abhorrent
• bitter
• despicable
• disgusting
• heinous
• odious
• ornery
• repulsive
• spiteful
• vicious
• vile