being or deserving to be abhorred or detested; abominable; odious
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
de•test•a•ble
(di tes′tə bəl),USA pronunciation adj.
de•test′a•bil′i•ty, de•test′a•ble•ness, n.
de•test′a•bly, adv.
- deserving to be detested;
abominable;
hateful.
- Latin dētestābilis, equivalent. to dētest(ārī) to detest + -ābilis -able
- Middle French
- late Middle English 1375–1425
de•test′a•bly, adv.
- execrable, abhorrent, loathsome, odious, vile.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
de•test /dɪˈtɛst/USA pronunciation
v.
de•tes•ta•tion /ˌditɛˈsteɪʃən/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]See -test-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- to feel great hatred for; hate: [~ + object]They detest war.[~ + verb-ing]I detest jogging.
de•tes•ta•tion /ˌditɛˈsteɪʃən/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]See -test-.
de•test
(di test′),USA pronunciation v.t.
de•test′er, n.
- to feel abhorrence of;
hate;
dislike intensely.
- Latin dētestārī to call down a curse upon, loathe, equivalent. to dē- de- + testārī to bear witness; see testate
- Middle French detester
- 1525–35
- abhor, loathe, abominate, execrate, despise. See hate.
- love, like.
'detestable' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
abhorrent
- abominable
- abomination
- accursed
- atrocious
- cursed
- damn
- damnable
- damnably
- damned
- despicable
- disgusting
- enjoyable
- execrable
- hateful
- hideous
- infamous
- loathsome
- nauseous
- odious