detestable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of detestable
1375–1425; late Middle English < Middle French < Latin dētestābilis, equivalent to dētest ( ārī ) to detest + -ābilis -able
Explanation
Anything that's so hateful or disgusting that you can't bear to think about it is detestable. Many little kids find all green vegetables to be utterly detestable. It's pretty common for people to find hate speech detestable, as well as stepping on slugs in bare feet and the pungent smell of garbage. The verb detest means "hate" or "strongly dislike," and the adjective detestable brings in an element of disgust or offensiveness. The Latin root, detestabilis, means "abominable," from detestari, "curse or express abhorrence for."
Vocabulary lists containing detestable
Romeo and Juliet
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In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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Negative Words to Describe a Person
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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.
Jabba, in all his hulking space worminess, was far more detestable.
From Salon • May 4, 2024
And how a beloved author could have been a detestable human.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 18, 2023
After Charles' execution in 1649, England's Crown Jewels were melted down or sold on the orders of the republican revolutionary Oliver Cromwell as representative of the "detestable rule of kings".
From BBC • Jul. 4, 2023
It is not a scarlet letter enough for me that detestable owners are merely forced — or encouraged — to sell teams they ruined in myriad ways.
From Washington Post • Apr. 19, 2023
I have known my share of peculiar, difficult, nervous, grabby people, but I’ve never encountered any genuinely, consistently detestable human beings in all my life.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.
