execration
Americannoun
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the act of execrating.
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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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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.
