execration
Americannoun
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the act of execrating.
-
a curse or imprecation.
The execrations of the prophet terrified the sinful multitude.
-
the object execrated; a thing held in abomination.
Etymology
Origin of execration
1350–1400; Middle English execracioun < Latin ex ( s ) ecrātiōn- (stem of ex ( s ) ecrātiō ). See execrate, -ion
Explanation
The noun execration means an angry denouncement or curse. A protester's furious execration of the police might end up getting her arrested. Use the word execration when you talk about something that's yelled or muttered angrily. When you declare, "May the god Apollo strike you down for saying that!" it's an execration. The person at whom you hurl the execration can also be called an execration, or an object of condemnation. The root word is execrari, which means "to hate or curse" in Latin.
Vocabulary lists containing execration
Jane Eyre
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"Of Plymouth Plantation," Vocabulary from the historical account
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"Of Plymouth Plantation" by William Bradford
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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.
And if they are remembered at all, it will be with execration and contempt.
From Washington Post • Jun. 2, 2020
There’s a long, proud tradition in comedy of taking advantage of whatever stage and microphone you’ve been handed and doing whatever you can to ensure you’re greeted with howls of execration.
From Slate • Aug. 27, 2019
“So long as there are Americans, his memory will be cherished with execration and loathing.”
From Salon • Sep. 23, 2014
At Barbados, the first stop, his rhapsody over scarlet poinsettias brought a hysterically savage execration from an Englishwoman returning to exile in Colombia.
From Time Magazine Archive
They never now mentioned the Welsh name but with an execration.
From The Monarchs of the Main, Volume II (of 3) Or, Adventures of the Buccaneers by Thornbury, Walter
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.
