odious
Americanadjective
-
deserving or causing hatred; hateful; detestable.
- Synonyms:
- execrable, despicable, objectionable, abominable
- Antonyms:
- lovable, attractive
-
highly offensive; repugnant; disgusting.
adjective
Synonym Usage
See hateful.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of odious
1350–1400; Middle English from Latin odiōsus, equivalent to od(ium) “hatred,” odium + -ōsus -ous
Explanation
If something is odious, it's hateful. If you become a historian of slavery, you'll learn all the details of that odious trade. Odious is from the Latin noun odium, which means hatred. It is a strong word, so don't call someone odious unless you want to accuse someone of being loathsome or vile. Actions can also be called odious. A typical use is Shakespeare's in Othello: "You told a lie, an odious damned lie." Some synonyms are hateful, contemptible, detestable, and abominable.
Vocabulary lists containing odious
Fahrenheit 451
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"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
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"On Women's Right to Vote" by Susan B. Anthony
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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.
"Nicaragua invokes Germany's responsibility in connection to multiple violations of international law, particularly in respect of the odious scourge of genocide and international humanitarian law," ambassador Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez told the court.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
His thesis adviser delicately observed that the student had used the odious pronoun.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
“In the odious decision of Dred Scott v. Sandford, this Court imposed the Southern States’ beliefs onto the Nation” and decreed Blacks could not become citizens, Roberts wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Sandford is a particularly odious source of constitutional wisdom, his argument echoed a broader antebellum consensus.
From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2026
Then he crimped his face as though I were odious and snorted, “Phew!”
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
