detest
Americanverb (used with object)
-
detests,
present (3rd person singular)
-
detested,
past participle, past
-
detesting
present participle
verb
Synonym Usage
See hate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
detestsimple
-
detestssimple
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have detestedperfect
-
has detestedperfect
-
am detestingprogressive
-
are detestingprogressive
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is detestingprogressive
-
have been detestingperfect progressive
-
has been detestingperfect progressive
Past
-
detestedsimple
-
had detestedperfect
-
was detestingprogressive
-
were detestingprogressive
-
had been detestingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of detest
First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French detester, from Latin dētestārī “to call down a curse upon, loathe,” equivalent to dē- de- + testārī “to bear witness”; see testate
Explanation
If you detest something, you dislike it intensely. The word can apply to things and also to people. You might detest your ex-boyfriend and you might also detest rainy Mondays and broccoli. Detest comes from the Middle French word détester, meaning "to curse, to call God to witness and abhor." Though the words detest and hate are interchangeable, the word hate is much more common, which has caused it to lose some of its hateful impact. Detest is used more sparingly, reserved for cases where no other word will do, where your feelings of dislike are so powerful that they need just the right word to sum them up.
Vocabulary lists containing detest
Tears of a Tiger
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Stargirl
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List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
If you dislike or even detest this film, I don’t seek to negate your feelings.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
Ethnic Persians are about half the population, and even those who detest the theocratic regime don’t want the country to break up or descend into civil war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026
She wants revenge without dwelling on its cause or her trauma — a word Hester would surely detest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2025
Not only do the Fremen detest colonizers mining their planet for spice and often attack them, the mining operation is also a dangerous activity in and of itself.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 27, 2024
They detest all neighboring cities, give nothing away.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
She said she detests the shift toward app and kiosk ordering at locations in her area.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Judging from his previous term in office, we can be sure that every one of the people around him knows how he detests being disagreed with.
From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2025
He values skill, graciousness, and intellect and detests wanton corruption — especially when it touches him or someone he cares about.
From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2025
When he pens an exploitative work, like another recent bestseller he detests, he is astonished to get a lucrative publishing deal and a movie offer.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
“The whale abhors chaos; the squid detests order. Is this ship not the bastard child of both?”
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
Lai, who was elected president in January 2024, has been an outspoken defender of Taiwan's sovereignty and is detested by Chinese leaders.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
He detested beards, thought them all fakes—his bearded Georgian father had died in 1937.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
She detested the East Coast avatars of apocalypse, like Nathanael West, who saw only doom and gloom in sunny L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
His father, Kenneth, was a conscientious objector who detested social injustice, nuclear weapons and smoking in equal measure.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
Taken prisoner during the first federalist adventure, he managed to escape to Curaçao disguised in the garment he detested most in this world: a cassock.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
There’s messaging about neighbors with different political views co-existing amicably – or, if not that, detesting each other for reasons other than politics.
From Salon ● Feb. 6, 2025
Also detesting the invasion is Maria Yumasheva, the 19-year-old daughter of Russian real estate developer Valentin Yumashev and his wife Tatyana Borisovna.
From Fox News ● Mar. 5, 2022
The former Liga MX star wasn’t shy about detesting powerhouse Tigres UANL.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 13, 2021
A reader called me out on it, saying that there’s a difference between disagreeing with a position and detesting a person.
From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2021
While cordially detesting the successful Sultan of Cordova, his Abbāside foe was forced to render homage to his skill and courage.
From The Moors in Spain by Stanley Lane-Poole
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
