abhorrent

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin abhorrēns, abhorrēntis, present active participle of abhorreō (“abhor”). See abhor

Pronunciation
  • (UK) IPA(key): /æbˈ(h)ɒɹ.ənt/, /əbˈ(h)ɒɹ.ənt/
  • (US) IPA(key): /æbˈhɔɹ.ənt/, /æbˈhɑɹ.ənt/

Adjective

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:
      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:
      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:
      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]
  4. Detestable or repugnant. [Early 19th century.][1]
    It's not racism to reject cultural behaviour that is abhorrent to us. - Henry Makow
    • 1833, Isaac Taylor, Fanaticism‎:
      If Pride, abhorrent as it is, and if Ambition, ...
    • 1936, Paul E. More, On Being Human‎:
      That, I protest, is a doctrine psychologically impossible and ethically abhorrent.
    • 1822, Richard Clover, Leonidas‎:
      The arts of pleasure in despotic courts I spurn, abhorrent; in a spotless heart I look for pleasure.

Usage notes
  • Nouns to which abhorrent is often applied: behavior, act, crime, practice, thing.
  • (opposed): abhorrent is typically followed by from.
  • (contrary): abhorrent is followed by to.
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Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

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

Further reading
  • abhorrent in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
  • abhorrent in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • abhorrent at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

French

Verb

abhorrent

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

Latin

Verb

abhorrent

  1. third-person plural present active indicative of abhorreō
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