abominable
Americanadjective
-
repugnantly hateful; detestable; loathsome.
an abominable crime.
-
very unpleasant; disagreeable.
The weather was abominable last week.
- Synonyms:
- miserable
- Antonyms:
- delightful
-
very bad, poor, or inferior.
They have abominable taste in clothes.
adjective
-
offensive; loathsome; detestable
-
informal very bad, unpleasant, or inferior
abominable weather
abominable workmanship
Other Word Forms
- abominableness noun
- abominably adverb
- superabominable adjective
- superabominableness noun
- superabominably adverb
Etymology
Origin of abominable
1325–75; Middle English < Latin abōminābilis, equivalent to abōminā ( rī ) to pray to avert an eventuality, despise as a bad omen, abhor ( ab-, omen ) + -bilis -ble
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.
Maybe it is plainly shameful to sit idly by, waiting for the police to peel back more layers of abominable detail, so it can be quickly disseminated to a hungry audience.
From Slate • Feb. 23, 2026
He later unfriended Deng Xiaoping’s China when it opened up its economy, an act Hoxha regarded as abominable.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025
You’re more than allowed to believe him abominable, and maybe do some witchcraft so his hairline starts receding at an unprecedented rate.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 17, 2025
That would be admirable if it weren’t for the fact that most of his beliefs were abominable.
From Salon • Nov. 5, 2025
It had a flat head, with bulging eyes and a wide frog mouth, and from it came wafts of abominable stink.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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.
