abhor

[ ab-hawr ]

See synonyms for: abhor abhorred abhorring on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),ab·horred, ab·hor·ring.

to regard with extreme repugnance or aversion; detest utterly; loathe; abominate.

Origin of abhor

First recorded before 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin abhorrēre “to shrink back from, shudder at,” equivalent to ab-ab- + horrēre “to bristle, tremble”

synonym study For abhor

See hate.

Other words for abhor

despise

See synonyms for abhor on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for abhor

love, admire

See antonyms for abhor on Thesaurus.com

Other words from abhor

ab·hor·rer, noun
su·per·ab·hor, verb (used with object), su·per·ab·horred, su·per·ab·hor·ring.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use abhor in a sentence

The science of air crash investigation – and it is a very mature science – abhors mystery.
MH370 Debris Is Lost Forever, Can the Plane Be Found Without It? | Clive Irving | September 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
A Barneys spokesman says the store abhors racial discrimination in any form and had nothing to do with the stops.
What’s Got Jay Z Tongue-Tied? The Barneys Racial Profiling Scandal | Michael Daly | October 24, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Bauer is aware that current momentum is pointing towards the one-state solution, an outcome he abhors.
Accusing Each Other Of Genocide | Mira Sucharov | March 5, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Power abhors a vacuum, as he sees things, and unless one holds onto it, someone else will grab it.
Obama’s Second-Term Surprise: Politics Not As Usual | James Warren | November 8, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Small said the State Department abhors the violence attributed to Boko Haram.
Nigeria’s Most Sadistic Killers: Why Is Boko Haram Not Designated a Terrorist Group? | Eli Lake | October 16, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST

If she loves this man, her love can be more deadly to the choice of her heart than her hate to one she abhors.
The Fifth String | John Philip Sousa
Blessed nature, healthy, temperate nature, abhors and exterminates excess.
The Pocket R.L.S. | Robert Louis Stevenson
Though, of course, there is the possibility that literature is a morbid secretion, and abhors health!
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 25 (of 25) | Robert Louis Stevenson
Her sins present themselves in array before her mind, and she "abhors herself, and repents in dust and ashes."
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. II | Francis Augustus Cox
I know a certain ardent feminist, who is all for late marriage for women, and abhors my ideas on this subject.
The Book of Life: Vol. I Mind and Body; Vol. II Love and Society | Upton Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for abhor

abhor

/ (əbˈhɔː) /

verb-hors, -horring or -horred

(tr) to detest vehemently; find repugnant; reject

Origin of abhor

C15: from Latin abhorrēre to shudder at, shrink from, from ab- away from + horrēre to bristle, shudder

Derived forms of abhor

abhorrer, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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