abominable
Americanadjective
-
repugnantly hateful; detestable; loathsome.
an abominable crime.
-
very unpleasant; disagreeable.
The weather was abominable last week.
- Synonyms:
- miserable
- Antonyms:
- delightful
-
very bad, poor, or inferior.
They have abominable taste in clothes.
adjective
-
offensive; loathsome; detestable
-
informal very bad, unpleasant, or inferior
abominable weather
abominable workmanship
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of abominable
1325–75; Middle English < Latin abōminābilis, equivalent to abōminā ( rī ) to pray to avert an eventuality, despise as a bad omen, abhor ( see ab-, omen) + -bilis -ble
Explanation
Abominable is as bad as it gets. So if the food at camp is abominable, the campers might start to shout, "Ick! Ick! Your stew is making us sick!" Abominable is an adjective that should be used only when something is exceptionally bad or threatening, like a gigantic furry snowman who is terrorizing a village. Abominable is so absolutely awful that it might cause physical revulsion, so odious that it could bring even the toughest of tough guys to tears — which is a bummer, because it's a surprisingly fun word to say out loud.
Vocabulary lists containing abominable
Negative Words to Describe a Person
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The Hobbit
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Oh, No! Synonyms for "Bad"
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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.
War is always a failure—a failure of diplomacy, a failure to reconcile—and invariably carries abominable human costs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
Maybe it is plainly shameful to sit idly by, waiting for the police to peel back more layers of abominable detail, so it can be quickly disseminated to a hungry audience.
From Slate • Feb. 23, 2026
You’re more than allowed to believe him abominable, and maybe do some witchcraft so his hairline starts receding at an unprecedented rate.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 17, 2025
That would be admirable if it weren’t for the fact that most of his beliefs were abominable.
From Salon • Nov. 5, 2025
“CBS program of last evening was most abominable hoax ever perpetrated on the American public.”
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
