loathsome
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- loathsomely adverb
- loathsomeness noun
- unloathsome adjective
Etymology
Origin of loathsome
First recorded in 1250–1300, loathsome is from the Middle English word lothsom. See loath, -some 1
Explanation
Loathsome things are things people hate — so much they make you want to throw up. Something loathsome is disgusting, distasteful, foul, revolting, and yucky. It's probably gross and awful, too. Some loathsome things are even repellent and nauseating. Other times, this word has a more general meaning. A corrupt politician is considered loathsome because he has no morals. A murderer is loathsome because of his crimes. Anything you think is horrible could be called loathsome.
Vocabulary lists containing loathsome
"Beowulf," Vocabulary from the epic poem
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Bud, Not Buddy
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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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.
The most brilliant collector of Cubism of his generation, he emerges as wickedly funny and in most other ways loathsome.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who ran against Trump in the latest Republican primary, prosecuted the case at the time and called it “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes” he had seen.
From BBC • Nov. 30, 2024
Chief among them is Simon Bennebjerg’s De Schinkel, the most loathsome movie villain in many a moon.
From New York Times • Jun. 17, 2024
No, it isn’t the loathsome Confederacy of the 1860s, or the Jim Crow South that denied civil rights and burned Beatles records; it is worse.
From Salon • Feb. 22, 2024
The loathsome demon stood three times as tall as a man and had the head of a dragon crowned by three horns.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
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.
