detest
Americanverb (used with object)
-
detests,
present (3rd person singular)
-
detested,
past participle, past
-
detesting
present participle
verb
Synonym Usage
See hate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
detestsimple
-
detestssimple
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have detestedperfect
-
has detestedperfect
-
am detestingprogressive
-
are detestingprogressive
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is detestingprogressive
-
have been detestingperfect progressive
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has been detestingperfect progressive
Past
-
detestedsimple
-
had detestedperfect
-
was detestingprogressive
-
were detestingprogressive
-
had been detestingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of detest
First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French detester, from Latin dētestārī “to call down a curse upon, loathe,” equivalent to dē- de- + testārī “to bear witness”; see testate
Explanation
If you detest something, you dislike it intensely. The word can apply to things and also to people. You might detest your ex-boyfriend and you might also detest rainy Mondays and broccoli. Detest comes from the Middle French word détester, meaning "to curse, to call God to witness and abhor." Though the words detest and hate are interchangeable, the word hate is much more common, which has caused it to lose some of its hateful impact. Detest is used more sparingly, reserved for cases where no other word will do, where your feelings of dislike are so powerful that they need just the right word to sum them up.
Vocabulary lists containing detest
Tears of a Tiger
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Stargirl
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List 1
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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.
See Examples For:
Some tolerate it; some fatalistically accept its coming; others downright detest it and those who use it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
Not only does the Korean magnate understandably detest that style, she has no love for Lindsay either.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026
She wants revenge without dwelling on its cause or her trauma — a word Hester would surely detest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2025
Not only do the Fremen detest colonizers mining their planet for spice and often attack them, the mining operation is also a dangerous activity in and of itself.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 27, 2024
When called upon, I delivered an effortless list of things that I detest: blood sausage, intestinal pates, brain pudding, I’d learned these words the hard way.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
She said she detests the shift toward app and kiosk ordering at locations in her area.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Mensah is a maternal figure who insists that Murderbot show its human face, although the cyborg detests eye contact.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2025
"He does not want to back down, and he does want to take on Pierre Poilievre, whom he detests," he said.
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2024
Beijing detests Lai, whom it believes is a separatist.
From Reuters ● Oct. 23, 2023
“The only person that made any sense in the dream was Professor Tupper. I mean he was the only person that was there that I know really detests me.”
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
A boisterous protest greeted fans arriving at SoFi stadium in Los Angeles, with demonstrators waving the pre-revolutionary flag detested by the leaders of the Islamic republic.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
The U.S. could soon have the “universally detested Temu Greyhound of the Skies.”
From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2026
A return to the top was a distant dream amid the dramas of two groundshares with Northampton and Birmingham, a detested ownership in Sisu, multiple protests and parliamentary mentions.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
“I think it’s proper to say that they really detested each other,” said Robert Aldrich, the film’s director.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
As much as she revered success, she detested the mass forms of communication that reported on the successful.
From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson
Also detesting the invasion is Maria Yumasheva, the 19-year-old daughter of Russian real estate developer Valentin Yumashev and his wife Tatyana Borisovna.
From Fox News ● Mar. 5, 2022
The former Liga MX star wasn’t shy about detesting powerhouse Tigres UANL.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 13, 2021
Fearing the power of the Huguenots and detesting their faith, the Guises created the Catholic League, an armed militia of Catholics that included armed monks, townsfolk, and soldiers.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020
If you already detest Dr. Phil, they will shore up your conviction that he is indeed worth detesting.
From New York Times ● Sep. 6, 2017
While cordially detesting the successful Sultan of Cordova, his Abbāside foe was forced to render homage to his skill and courage.
From The Moors in Spain by Stanley Lane-Poole
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.
