execrate

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin exsecrārī, execrārī, from ex (“out”) + sacrāre (“to consecrate, declare accursed”).

Verb

execrate (third-person singular simple present execrat, present participle ing, simple past and past participle execrated)

1. (transitive) to feel loathing for; to abhor
   • 1932, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Nicodemus, "Prodigal Son":

     And were I not a thing for you and me

     To execrate in angish, you would be

     As indigent a stranger to surprise,

     I fear, as I was once, and as unwise.

2. (transitive) to declare to be hateful or abhorrent; to denounce

   Synonyms: anathematize, comminate, curse, damn, imprecate, maledict, obdurate

3. (intransitive, archaic) to invoke a curse; to curse or swear
   • 1914, James Joyce, Dubliniers, "Counterparts":

     He longed to execrate aloud, to bring his fist down on something violently.

Derived terms

• execrable
• execration
• execrative
• execratory

 

Related terms

etymologically related

• consecrate
• desecrate

Translations

to feel loathing for

• Bulgarian: отвращавам се (otvraštavam se)
• French: exécrer (fr)
• German: verabscheuen (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: exsecror
• Spanish: execrar (es)

to declare to be hateful or abhorrent; denounce

• Latin: exsecror
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: execrar (es)

(archaic) to invoke a curse

• Bulgarian: проклинам (bg) (proklinam)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Further reading

• “execrate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “execrate”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “execrate”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “execrate”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• excetera, excreate

---

Latin

Participle

(deprecated template usage) execrāte

1. vocative masculine singular of execrātus