loathsome
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of loathsome
First recorded in 1250–1300, loathsome is from the Middle English word lothsom. See loath, -some 1
Explanation
Loathsome things are things people hate — so much they make you want to throw up. Something loathsome is disgusting, distasteful, foul, revolting, and yucky. It's probably gross and awful, too. Some loathsome things are even repellent and nauseating. Other times, this word has a more general meaning. A corrupt politician is considered loathsome because he has no morals. A murderer is loathsome because of his crimes. Anything you think is horrible could be called loathsome.
Vocabulary lists containing loathsome
"Beowulf," Vocabulary from the epic poem
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Bud, Not Buddy
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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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.
Loathsome and magnetic, infuriating and unforgettable, he is, by several bed lengths, the most dynamic protagonist Sachs has given us, a vessel of pure, untrammeled id.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 2, 2023
Loathsome teams feel entitled to their successes, and that sense of entitlement tends to infect their fan base, too.
From Slate • Oct. 16, 2015
As Ucho had pointed out so often, who would want to marry the Loathsome One?
From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis
Loathsome is that earth-house, And grim within to dwell.
From The Complete Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow by Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth
Remarks.—It is perhaps unnecessary to give the equations "Laidly Worm = Loathly Worm = Loathsome Dragon," and "borrowed = changed."
From English Fairy Tales by Jacobs, Joseph
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.
