odious
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
Via French odieux, "odious", from Latin odiosus, from odium, "hate", -osus, "-ous", from odisse, "to hate".
Pronunciation [edit]
Adjective [edit]
odious (comparative more odious, superlative most odious)
- Arousing or meriting strong dislike, aversion, or intense displeasure.
- Scrubbing the toilet is an odious task.
- 1903, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist”, in The Return of Sherlock HolmesWikisource:
- "He was a dreadful person, a bully to everyone else, but to me something infinitely worse. He made odious love to me, boasted of his wealth, said that if I married him I would have the finest diamonds in London, and finally, when I would have nothing to do with him, he seized me in his arms one day after dinner -- he was hideously strong -- and he swore that he would not let me go until I had kissed him."
- 1818, Mary Shelley, chapter 6, Frankenstein[1]:
- He looks upon study as an odious fetter; his time is spent in the open air, climbing the hills or rowing on the lake.
Usage notes [edit]
- Nouns to which "odious" is often applied: debt, man, character, crime, task, comparison, woman, person, vice, word, act.
Synonyms [edit]
Translations [edit]
Translations
|
