detest

[dih-test]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR detest ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to feel abhorrence of; hate; dislike intensely.

Origin of detest

1525–35; < Middle French detester < Latin dētestārī to call down a curse upon, loathe, equivalent to dē- de- + testārī to bear witness; see testate

Related formsde·test·er, nounun·de·test·ed, adjectiveun·de·test·ing, adjective

Synonyms for detest

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR detest ON THESAURUS.COM

abhor, loathe, abominate, execrate, despise. See hate.

Antonyms for detest

love, like.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for detest

despise, abhor, loathe, repudiate, abominate, reject, execrate

Examples from the Web for detest

Contemporary Examples of detest

It stands, in short, for everything a leftist should detest.
Meet Stephen F. Cohen, Vladimir Putin's Best Friend in the American Media
Cathy Young
March 16, 2014
In a Fox News survey, and that network knows its Republicans, they dislike her as thoroughly as they detest Obama.
Nancy Pelosi Becoming House Speaker Again Would Be Sweet Justice
Robert Shrum
April 27, 2013
I do not hate the Palestinians, but I detest most of their leaders and their political culture.
Sheltered In Jerusalem
Gil Troy
November 17, 2012
The Tea Party Republicans who detest, or more accurately hate, this president will be maddened by his reelection.
GOP Civil War Is Coming as Mitt Romney Campaign Flails in Video’s Wake
Robert Shrum
September 18, 2012
They detest the Republican Party almost as much as the Democratic Party.
Stop Mocking the Tea Party
Kirsten Powers
September 16, 2010

Historical Examples of detest

If there's one sort of man I detest more than another, it's a man who is sorry for himself.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
Never had it seemed to her possible she could detest him as she did now.
The Dream
Emile Zola
I detest the reflection that I would have sacrificed your happiness to mine.
Joseph Andrews, Vol. 2
Henry Fielding
That there are people whom it is necessary to detest without compromise.
Little Dorrit
Charles Dickens
I adore having people come to see me, and I detest going to see them.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt

British Dictionary definitions for detest

detest

verb

(tr) to dislike intensely; loathe

Derived Formsdetester, noun

Word Origin for detest

C16: from Latin dētestārī to curse (while invoking a god as witness), from de- + testārī to bear witness, from testis a witness

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

Word Origin and History for detest

early 15c., "to curse, to call God to witness and abhor," from Middle French détester, from Latin detestari "to curse, execrate, abominate, express abhorrence for," literally "denounce with one's testimony," from de- "from, down" (see de-) + testari "be a witness," from testis "witness" (see testament). Related: Detested; detesting.