execrate

[ek-si-kreyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR execrate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), ex·e·crat·ed, ex·e·crat·ing.

to detest utterly; abhor; abominate.

to curse; imprecate evil upon; damn; denounce: He execrated all who opposed him.

verb (used without object), ex·e·crat·ed, ex·e·crat·ing.

to utter curses.

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. 2019

Related Words for execrate

imprecate, abominate, despise, vilify, curse, reprehend, reprove, revile, excoriate, denounce, censure, objurgate, detest, damn, condemn, reprobate, anathematize, deplore, abhor, loathe

Examples from the Web for execrate

Historical Examples of execrate

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.
The Necessity of Atheism
Dr. D.M. Brooks
And yet, have I a right to execrate the thrall of the beaker?
Cleopatra, Complete
Georg Ebers
You are not the only one who will execrate the destiny that brought us here.
Arachne, Complete
Georg Ebers
He longed to execrate aloud, to bring his fist down on something violently.
Dubliners
James Joyce

British Dictionary definitions for execrate

execrate

verb

(tr) to loathe; detest; abhor

(tr) to profess great abhorrence for; denounce; deplore

to curse (a person or thing); damn

Derived Formsexecration, nounexecrative or execratory, adjectiveexecratively, adverb

Word Origin for execrate

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

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.