hate
verb (used with object)
to dislike intensely or passionately; feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward; detest.
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hate
1 American
[heyt]
/ heɪt /
verb (used with object)
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hates,
present (3rd person singular)
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hated,
past participle, past
-
hating
present participle
verb (used without object)
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hates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hated,
past participle, past
-
hating
present participle
noun
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hate
plural
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intense dislike; extreme aversion or hostility.
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the object of extreme aversion or hostility.
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(in a video game) the focus or targeting of an enemy on a player character; enmity; aggro: As a tank, pretty much your number-one priority is getting and holding hate.
The Black Mage got hate, but it’s really his own fault for casting those level-four spells back to back.
As a tank, pretty much your number-one priority is getting and holding hate.
adjective
verb phrase
hate-
2
American
hate
British
/ heɪt /
verb
-
to dislike (something) intensely; detest
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(intr) to be unwilling (to be or do something)
noun
-
intense dislike
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informal a person or thing that is hated (esp in the phrase pet hate )
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(modifier) expressing or arousing feelings of hatred
hate mail
hate
Idioms
Usage
What is a basic definition of hate? Hate is used as a verb to mean to passionately and intensely dislike something or to dislike or be unwilling. As a noun, hate is used to mean an intense loathing. Hate has a few other meanings as a verb, noun, and adjective. If someone hates something, they dislike it so intensely that rage or disgust fills their body when they come into contact with it. A person who hates something is called a hater.
- Real-life examples: Children often hate vegetables. Enemies are people who hate each other. A person who hates dogs never wants to be around them. An environmentalist hates pollution and the destruction of rainforests.
- Used in a sentence: Mark hates Ashley so much that he won’t even be in the same room as her.
- Real-life examples: Children sometimes hate to do chores so much that their parents yell at them. Still, parents often hate to say goodbye when their children grow up and move away from home.
- Used in a sentence: I hate to say it but I think my mother was right.
- Used in a sentence: The Grinch was consumed by his hate of Christmas.
- Real-life examples: The Ku Klux Klan is a hate group, meaning the members hate something specific or a specific group of people, in this case chiefly Black people. Social media websites forbid hate speech. An unpopular celebrity is likely to receive hate mail.
- Used in a sentence: Reading the hate speech about people’s skin color makes me sick.
Synonym Usage
Hate, abhor, detest, abominate imply feeling intense dislike or aversion toward something. Hate, the simple and general word, suggests passionate dislike and a feeling of enmity: to hate autocracy. Abhor expresses a deep-rooted horror and a sense of repugnance or complete rejection: to abhor cruelty; Nature abhors a vacuum. Detest implies intense, even vehement, dislike and antipathy, besides a sense of disdain: to detest a combination of ignorance and arrogance. Abominate expresses a strong feeling of disgust and repulsion toward something thought of as unworthy, unlucky, or the like: to abominate treachery.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hatesimple
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hatessimple
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have hatedperfect
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has hatedperfect
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am hatingprogressive
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are hatingprogressive
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is hatingprogressive
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have been hatingperfect progressive
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has been hatingperfect progressive
Past
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hatedsimple
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had hatedperfect
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was hatingprogressive
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were hatingprogressive
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had been hatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hate
First recorded before 900; Middle English hat(i)en, Old English hatian (verb); cognate with Dutch haten, Old Norse hata, Gothic hatan, German hassen
Explanation
Do you dislike getting up early on weekends? How much do you dislike it? So much that you'd stay in bed even if your favorite movie star came by your house to make you your favorite breakfast? In that case, you could say you hate it. Hate is a powerfully strong verb, and it's one you should probably save for those things you really detest, that you have a passionately negative feeling about. An exception is when you use it in a sentence like, "I hate to bother you, but I'd like another cup of coffee." In this case, you're not using the word hate literally, but in more of a polite way; you simply want to emphasize that you're not trying to bother someone while still getting what you want.
Vocabulary lists containing hate
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.
See Examples For:
Feeling boxed in at a job you hate is miserable.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
That love them or hate them mood remains.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
“Scripture says you can’t love God and hate other people,” Talarico, a seminarian, said in a sermon posted on TikTok in December 2025.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Heidi Beirich, who once tracked hate groups for the SPLC, was indicted in Alabama for her alleged role in the scheme and self-surrendered in California, according to a person familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
“You lived with her for months, I’m sure you can think of something. Who does she hate more than anyone?”
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
The county will also use the hotline to track incidents of hate- and bias-motivated crimes that may not necessarily be reported to law enforcement.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 27, 2022
The Stop Hate Hotline would also allow the county to more accurately track incidents of hate- and bias-motivated crimes.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 9, 2022
The number of hate- and bias-related crimes increased 34 percent — from 47 to 63 — from 2016 to 2017, according to data from Maryland State Police.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 9, 2019
"The scariest part is that it's usually the boy next door," says William Johnston, who directs the nation's oldest hate- crimes police unit in Boston.
From Time Magazine Archive
He added he hates to think about what would have happened if the police had not been in the area and got to him quickly.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Jenner hates the paparazzi for invading her privacy but sees no moral quandary in collecting a check from Mark Zuckerberg, who wants to invade everyone’s privacy.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
People will say, “Oh, my dog hates all dogs” and then my dog pulls me over and the dog that hates all dogs just melts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
He hates Obama for making fun of him then.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
I know that for my brother, it’s because he hates when Mom comes to school.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
“I hated that our fans booed her before the game,” Clark said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The Indiana Fever guard said she had received criticism from people who believed she "hated" transgender people, something she denied.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
“I hated being a cog in a wheel, just moving things around.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
“A good portion of my life growing up was on a farm, and as a kid, I hated the whole idea of it,” George said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
I hated to admit it, but going with James had provided me with a little hope that everything would be all right.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
A whole generation grew up under repression, economic collapse and came of age hating him, said Narges Bajoghli, associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
"It's really frightening. And I think all of us need to work hard at trying to teach our children and our children's children about not hating other people for being slightly different from yourself."
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
I think the character was designed to start hating.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026
Among those surveyed was a Bolton head teacher who said arts subjects had been "systematically devalued" by the curriculum, which had contributed to some students hating school and committing truancy.
From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2026
There was never any point in hating them.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
