abominate

[ uh-bom-uh-neyt ]

verb (used with object)

, a·bom·i·nat·ed, a·bom·i·nat·ing.

1. to regard with intense aversion or loathing; abhor.

   Synonyms: execrate, loathe

   Antonyms: love, like

2. to dislike strongly.

abominate

/ əˈbɒmɪˌneɪt /

verb

1. tr to dislike intensely; loathe; detest

Derived Forms

• aˈbomiˌnator, noun

Other Words From

• a·bomi·nator noun
• self-a·bomi·nating adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of abominate¹

First recorded in 1840–50; from Latin abōminātus “loathed,” past participle of abōminārī. See abominable, -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of abominate¹

C17: from the past participle of Latin abōminārī to regard as an ill omen, from ab- away from + ōmin-, from omen

Synonym Study

See hate.

Example Sentences

In my capacity as a libertarian pundit, it is my solemn duty to abominate Washington.

From Washington Post

You got me out of this place and here’s your reward; you’re everything we jointly abominate.

From Literature

Nor was he remotely touchy-feely — a locution he would have abominated — apparently shrinking even from handshakes and hugs.

From New York Times

In her bestselling essay Women & Power: A Manifesto, Mary Beard gives her readers a depressing history lesson about how classical society abominated the very idea of women speaking in public.

From The Guardian

To compound the irony, the American Social Security system that these 19th-century radicals abominate is modeled on the public pension policy of Wilhelmine Germany’s conservative chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

From Salon