loathe

English

Etymology

Middle English lothe, from Old English lāþian, from Proto-Germanic *laiþōną. Cognate with Old Norse leiðask ( > Danish ledes, Icelandic leiðast, all reflexive), German Leid.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈləʊð/
• IPA^(key): /ˈloʊð/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊð

Verb

loathe (third-person singular simple present loathes, present participle loathing, simple past and past participle loathed)

1. (transitive) To detest, hate, revile.

   Synonyms: abhor, abominate, despise

   I loathe scrubbing toilets.

   I absolutely loathe this place.

   • (Can we date this quote by Cowley and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Loathing the honeyed cakes, I longed for bread.

   • 1736, Andrew Gray, “Sermon VI. Acts xxvi. 18. [...]”, in Great and Precious Promises: or, Some Sermons Concerning the Promises, and the Right Application thereof. […], Glasgow: Printed by William Duncan, […], →OCLC, page 115:

     […] O Hypocrites! ye hope for Enjoyment of Chriſt, but be perſwaded of it, Chriſt ſhall eternally loath you, and ye ſhall eternally loath Chriſt: […]

   • 1850, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Sonnet XXXII”, in Sonnets from the Portuguese:

     Quick-loving hearts, I thought, may quickly loathe

   • 2003 October 13, The New Yorker:

     This movie is a historical achievement: Clint Eastwood, an icon of violence, has made us loathe violence as an obscenity. “Mystic River” hurts the way sad stories always hurt, but the craft and love with which it has been made transfigure pain into a moviegoer’s rapture

Usage notes

Not to be confused with the related adjective loath.

Alternative forms

• loath (obsolete)

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:hate

Derived terms

• loathable
• loather
• loathing
• loathsome
• self-loathing

 

Related terms

• loath, loth

Translations

to detest, hate, revile

• Armenian: զզվել (hy) (zzvel), գարշել (hy) (garšel)
• Catalan: detestar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 厭惡／厌恶 (zh) (yànwù), 厌恶 (zh) (yànwù), 討厭／讨厌 (zh) (tǎoyàn), 讨厌 (zh) (tǎoyàn), 嫌惡／嫌恶 (zh) (xiánwù), 嫌恶 (zh) (xiánwù)

• Czech: ošklivit si, hnusit si
• Danish: afsky (da)
• Norwegian: avsky (no)
• Dutch: verafschuwen (nl)
• Esperanto: abomeni (eo), malamegi
• Estonian: vihkama, jälestama
• Finnish: inhota (fi)
• French: exécrer (fr)
• German: verabscheuen (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: στυγέω (stugéō), βδελύσσομαι (bdelússomai)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: detestare (it), odiare (it), aborrire (it), abominare (it)
• Japanese: 大嫌い (daikirai), 忌み嫌う (imikirau), 唾棄する (ja) (daki suru)
• Latin: abōminor
• Maori: whakaetieti, mauāhara
• Polish: nienawidzić (pl), gardzić (pl)
• Portuguese: detestar (pt)
• Russian: ненави́деть (ru) (nenavídetʹ), не выноси́ть (ru) (ne vynosítʹ), не люби́ть (ru) (ne ljubítʹ)
• Scots: laith
• Scottish Gaelic: fuathaich
• Spanish: detestar (es), repugnar (es)
• Telugu: అసహ్యించుకొను (asahyiñcukonu)
• Yiddish: פֿײַנט האָבן (faynt hobn)

Further reading

• “loathe”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “loathe”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Theola