Wiktionary

abhorrent

English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin abhorrēns, abhorrēntis, present active participle of abhorreō (“abhor”). Equivalent to abhor +‎ -ent.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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abhorrent (comparative more abhorrent, superlative most abhorrent)

  1. (archaic) Inconsistent with, or far removed from, something; strongly opposed. [Late 16th century.][1]
    abhorrent thoughts
    • 1803, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France‎[1]:
      The persons most abhorrent from blood, and treason, and arbitrary confiscation, might remain silent spectators of this civil war between the vices.
  2. Contrary to something; discordant. [Mid 17th century.][1]
    • 1827, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline And Fall of the Roman Empire‎[2]:
      This legal, and, as it should seem, injudicious profanation, so abhorrent to out stricter principles, was received with a very faint murmur, ...
    • 1990, James Hankins, Plato in the Italian Renaissance‎[3]:
      In establishing his ideal state he expressed some opinions utterly abhorrent to our customs and ways of living. He believed, for instance, that all wives should be held in common ... with the result that no one could tell his own children from those of a perfect stranger.
  3. Abhorring; detesting; having or showing abhorrence; loathing. [Mid 18th century.][1]
  5. Detestable or repugnant. [Early 19th century.][1]
    • 1833, Isaac Taylor, Fanaticism‎[4]:
      If Pride, abhorrent as it is, and if Ambition, ...
    • 1936, Paul E. More, On Being Human‎[5]:
      That, I protest, is a doctrine psychologically impossible and ethically abhorrent.
    • 1822, Richard Clover, Leonidas‎[6]:
      The arts of pleasure in despotic courts I spurn, abhorrent; in a spotless heart I look for pleasure.

Usage notes

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  • (opposed): abhorrent is typically followed by from.
  • (contrary): abhorrent is followed by to.

Antonyms

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Related terms

Collocations

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with nouns
  • abhorrent behavior
  • abhorrent act
  • abhorrent crime
  • abhorrent practice
  • abhorrent thing

Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “abhorrent”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 4.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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French

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Verb

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abhorrent

  1. third-person plural present indicative/subjunctive of abhorrer

Latin

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Verb

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abhorrent

  1. third-person plural present active indicative of abhorreō
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