execration

American  

[ek-si-krey-shuhn] / ˌɛk sɪˈkreɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of execrating.

2. a curse or imprecation.

   The execrations of the prophet terrified the sinful multitude.

3. the object execrated; a thing held in abomination.

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Etymology

Origin of execration

1350–1400; Middle English execracioun < Latin ex ( s ) ecrātiōn- (stem of ex ( s ) ecrātiō ). See execrate, -ion

Explanation

The noun execration means an angry denouncement or curse. A protester's furious execration of the police might end up getting her arrested. Use the word execration when you talk about something that's yelled or muttered angrily. When you declare, "May the god Apollo strike you down for saying that!" it's an execration. The person at whom you hurl the execration can also be called an execration, or an object of condemnation. The root word is execrari, which means "to hate or curse" in Latin.

Example Sentences

And if they are remembered at all, it will be with execration and contempt.

From Washington Post • Jun. 2, 2020

There’s a long, proud tradition in comedy of taking advantage of whatever stage and microphone you’ve been handed and doing whatever you can to ensure you’re greeted with howls of execration.

From Slate • Aug. 27, 2019

“So long as there are Americans, his memory will be cherished with execration and loathing.”

From Salon • Sep. 23, 2014

At the end of the War, when Royal feet were running and the great soldiers were subject to public execration, Hindenburg stood firm.

From Time Magazine Archive

Other acts of cold-blooded cruelty, and false-hearted tyranny followed, till he became the execration and abhorrence of the whole colony.

From Norman's New Orleans and Environs Containing a Brief Historical Sketch of the Territory and State of Louisiana and the City of New Orleans, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time by Norman, B. M.