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execrate

[ek-si-kreyt]
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verb (used with object), ex·e·crat·ed, ex·e·crat·ing.
  1. to detest utterly; abhor; abominate.
  2. to curse; imprecate evil upon; damn; denounce: He execrated all who opposed him.
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verb (used without object), ex·e·crat·ed, ex·e·crat·ing.
  1. to utter curses.
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Origin of execrate

1555–65; < Latin ex(s)ecrātus (past participle of ex(s)ecrārī to curse), equivalent to ex- ex-1 + secr- (combining form of sacrāre to consecrate; see sacrament) + -ātus -ate1
Related formsex·e·cra·tor, nounun·ex·e·crat·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

imprecateabominatedespisevilifycursereprehendreproverevileexcoriatedenouncecensureobjurgatedetestdamncondemnreprobateanathematizedeploreabhorloathe

Examples from the Web for execrate

Historical Examples

  • We but smile at the one, we would learn to execrate the other.

    Leading Articles on Various Subjects

    Hugh Miller

  • I execrate the enslavement of the mind of our young children by the ecclesiastics.

  • And yet, have I a right to execrate the thrall of the beaker?

  • You are not the only one who will execrate the destiny that brought us here.

  • He longed to execrate aloud, to bring his fist down on something violently.

    Dubliners

    James Joyce

British Dictionary definitions for execrate

execrate

verb
  1. (tr) to loathe; detest; abhor
  2. (tr) to profess great abhorrence for; denounce; deplore
  3. to curse (a person or thing); damn
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Derived Formsexecration, nounexecrative or execratory, adjectiveexecratively, adverb

Word Origin

C16: from Latin exsecrārī to curse, from ex- 1 + -secrārī from sacer sacred
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 execrate

v.

1560s, from Latin execratus/exsecratus, past participle of execrari/exsecrari "to curse, utter a curse; hate, abhor," from ex- (see ex-) + sacrare "to devote to" (see sacred). Hence, "to devote off or away; to curse." Related: Execrated; execrating.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper