EN

Synonyms for loathe

11 synonyms
12 antonyms
1 meaning

verb

Most common

abhor hate detest despise

All synonyms

Verb

1. Abhor — to detest, hate, or revile (someone or something)

abhor, hate, detest, despise, dislike, spite, abominate, execrate, nauseate, disrelish, ug dated UK

Antonyms

love, adore, cherish

All antonyms of loathe →

Definitions

v. 1
To detest, hate, or revile (someone or something).
I loathe scrubbing toilets.

Related words

Word family: loather loathing loathsome loath

Forms

Past participle: loathed
e.g. loathed → abhorred, hated, detested, despised…

Choose the right word

or Loathe?

Loathe implies disgust, physical or moral.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

hate All the members of the committee hate one another.
despise Tonight you're gonna see why I despise that woman.
detest I don’t like Tom very much; in fact, I detest him.
abhor People with physical disabilities abhor being pitied.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
loathe		rising
hate		rising
despise		rising
detest		rising
abhor		steady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

2 letters: ug
4 letters: hate¹
5 letters: spite¹, abhor²
6 letters: detest²
7 letters: dislike², despise²
8 letters: execrate, nauseate³
9 letters: abominate, disrelish

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (abhor² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: exécrer
Italiano: detestare
Español: execrar
Deutsch: verabscheuen
Català: execrar