execration

[ ek-si-krey-shuhn ]

/ ˌɛk sɪˈkreɪ ʃən /

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noun

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.

QUIZ

CUDDLE UP! A COZY QUIZ ON FALL WORDS HAS ARRIVED

If autumn is your ideal season, spice up your repertoire of "fall" vocabulary with this quiz on some warm and vivid descriptive words for the season.

Question 1 of 10

Which of the following words means “to make a crackling sound; crackle”?

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Origin of execration

1350–1400; Middle English execracioun<Latin ex(s)ecrātiōn- (stem of ex(s)ecrātiō). See execrate, -ion

Madoff looked strangely content in the back of the car as he was driven away to a future of unremitting execration.
Did We All Go Mad?|Tina Brown|December 15, 2008|DAILY BEAST
Many of the Girondists in the Assembly gave vehement but unavailing utterance to their execration of the massacres.
Madame Roland, Makers of History|John S. C. Abbott
A howl of execration burst forth, but it was stayed by the entrance of two people from the private portion of the palace.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
A violent reaction took place on the accession of Decius, whose name became an object of execration to mankind.
The Catacombs of Rome|William Henry Withrow

The Greek word has become blended with the Hebrew phrase, and the compound used as a formula of execration.
Notes and Queries, Number 196, July 30, 1853|Various
In a succession of libels Spencer Cowper was held up to the execration of the public.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay