abhorrence
Americannoun
-
a feeling of extreme repugnance or aversion; utter loathing; abomination.
- Synonyms:
- detestation, execration
-
something or someone extremely repugnant or loathsome.
noun
-
a feeling of extreme loathing or aversion
-
a person or thing that is loathsome
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of abhorrence
First recorded in 1650–60; abhorr(ent) + -ence
Explanation
Abhorrence is a feeling of hate and disgust. If you have an abhorrence of violence, you probably won't want to watch "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." The Latin ancestor of abhorrence isn't all that different from today's word or its meaning — it comes from abhorrēre, which means "to shrink back from," and it became synonymous with loathing in the early 17th century. Note the similarity to the word horror — a good way to remember the word's meaning. The Polish physicist Joseph Rotblat knew the power of the word when he used it to refer to the "widespread instinctive abhorrence of nuclear weapons.”
Vocabulary lists containing abhorrence
The Book Thief
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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Stories of Ourselves
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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.
He conveys the grief and terror felt by abolitionists in the founding generation, who predicted catastrophe, and the abhorrence of the institution among such men as Adams, who believed in emancipation by gradual means.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026
It had everything to do with the public’s interest in the news and the First Amendment’s abhorrence of prior restraints.
From Slate • May 21, 2024
In general, we can say that police harbor a kind of natural abhorrence of protest because it's disorderly and policing is about the production of social order.
From Salon • May 14, 2024
The consultation which led to its introduction was supported, for example, by the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities which said that it enabled "society to signal its abhorrence of prejudice and hatred against identifiable groups."
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2024
Zero and infinity had destroyed the Arisotelian philosophy; the void and the infinite cosmos had eliminated the nutshell universe and the idea of nature’s abhorrence of the vacuum.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
