abhorrent

American  

[ab-hawr-uhnt, -hor-] / æbˈhɔr ənt, -ˈhɒr- /

adjective

1. causing repugnance; detestable; loathsome.

   an abhorrent deed.

   Synonyms:

   abominable, shocking

2. utterly opposed, or contrary, or in conflict (usually followed byto ).

   abhorrent to reason.

3. feeling extreme repugnance or aversion (usually followed byof ).

   abhorrent of waste.

4. remote in character (usually followed byfrom ).

   abhorrent from the principles of law.

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abhorrent British  

/ əbˈhɒrənt /

adjective

1. repugnant; loathsome

2. feeling extreme aversion or loathing (for)

   abhorrent of vulgarity

3. conflicting (with)

   abhorrent to common sense

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Other Word Forms

• abhorrently adverb
• unabhorrently adverb

Etymology

Origin of abhorrent

First recorded in 1610–20, abhorrent is from the Latin word abhorrent- (stem of abhorrēns, present participle of abhorrēre ). See abhor, -ent

Example Sentences

Cerf “wasn’t afraid to tell her that he considered her philosophy of rational selfishness ‘abhorrent,’” Ms. Feldman writes, “but at the same time, he promised that if RH published her, ‘nobody’ would be a censor.”

From The Wall Street Journal

"We were completely unaware that this contestant had made such abhorrent comments," they said.

From BBC

Sir Keir said he had been unaware of the "absolutely abhorrent" posts, which Mr Abd El Fattah has since apologised for, and that the government was reviewing the "information failures in this case".

From BBC

"What he said was clearly quite abhorrent. Nobody would subscribe to that - certainly not the government. And now there is an inquiry by the Foreign Office about how these tweets were overlooked," he said.

From BBC

On Monday, Sir Keir said the resurfaced tweets were "absolutely abhorrent" and said the government was "taking steps to review the information failures in this case".

From BBC

Related Words

• despicable
• loathsome
• repulsive