detest

English

Etymology

From Middle French detester, from Latin detestari (“to imprecate evil while calling the gods to witness", "denounce", "hate intensely”), from de- + testari (“to testify, bear witness”), from testis (“a witness”); see test, testify.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /dɪˈtɛst/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

detest (third-person singular simple present detests, present participle detesting, simple past and past participle detested)

1. (transitive) To dislike intensely; to loathe.

   I detest snakes.

   Who dares think one thing, and another tell, / My heart detests him as the gates of hell. — Pope.

2. (obsolete) To witness against; to denounce; to condemn.

   The heresy of Nestorius […] was detested in the Eastern churches. — Fuller.

   God hath detested them with his own mouth. — Bale.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing). See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:hate

Related terms

• detestable
• detestation

Translations

to dislike

• Bulgarian: мразя (bg) (mrazja), ненавиждам (bg) (nenaviždam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 厭恨 (cmn), 厌恨 (cmn) (yànhèn), 恨死 (cmn) (hènsǐ)

• Czech: ošklivit (cs) si, hnusit (cs) si
• Dutch: verafschuwen (nl)
• Finnish: inhota (fi)
• French: détester (fr), mépriser (fr)
• German: verabscheuen (de)

• Italian: detestare (it)
• Japanese: (as an adjective) 大嫌い (ja) (だいきらい, daikirai), ひどく嫌う (ja) (ひどくきらう, hidoku kirau)
• Latin: odi (la), exsecror (la), execror (la)
• Russian: ненавидеть (ru) (nenavidetʹ)
• Scots: laith
• Scottish Gaelic: fuathaich (gd)
• Spanish: detestar (es)

See also

• abhor
• despise
• disdain
• dislike
• hate
• loathe

External links

• detest in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• detest in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Anagrams

• tested