abhor

verb

ab·​hor əb-ˈhȯr How to pronounce abhor (audio)
ab-
abhorred; abhorring

transitive verb

: to regard with extreme repugnance : to feel hatred or loathing for : loathe
abhorred violence
abhorrer noun

Did you know?

Abhor implies strong feelings of repugnance, disgust, and aversion. This degree of distaste is seen in the word's history. In earlier use, abhor sometimes implied an actual shrinking away from something in horror or repugnance. Appropriately, the word's Latin source, the verb abhorrēre, comes from the prefix ab- ("from, away") and the verb horrēre ("to bristle, shiver, or shudder"). As you may have guessed, the Latin horrēre is also the source of the English words horror, horrify, and horrible.

Did you know?

The Horror in Abhor

Abhor means “to loathe” or “to hate,” and while loathe and hate have roots in Old English, abhor derives from Latin. The roots of abhor can give us a deeper understanding of both the strength of the dislike expressed by the word and its relationship to other words in English. It came from the Latin word abhorrēre, which meant “to recoil from” or “to be repugnant to,” and was formed by combining ab-, meaning “from” and horrēre, meaning “to bristle,” “to tremble,” or “to shudder.” This word for trembling or shuddering in reaction to something scary or awful is related to the word that names of the cause of those reactions—the Latin word horror, which was later borrowed into English. The -hor of abhor is also the hor- of horror.

Choose the Right Synonym for abhor

hate, detest, abhor, abominate, loathe mean to feel strong aversion or intense dislike for.

hate implies an emotional aversion often coupled with enmity or malice.

hated the enemy with a passion

detest suggests violent antipathy.

detests cowards

abhor implies a deep often shuddering repugnance.

a crime abhorred by all

abominate suggests strong detestation and often moral condemnation.

abominates all forms of violence

loathe implies utter disgust and intolerance.

loathed the mere sight of them

Examples of abhor in a Sentence

We believe we know that Americans abhor extremes and mistrust ideology. David Frum, Atlantic, March 1995
I abhor latter-day, modishly camp take-offs of my cherished boyhood heroes and heroines (Little Orphan Annie, Wonder Woman, Invisible Scarlet O'Neil). Mordecai Richler, New York Times Book Review, 3 May 1987
He abhorred grandiosity. When he came to New York to revise his manuscripts and galley proofs, he would hole up in a little cubicle on the attic floor of the old 52nd Street mansion that went by the name of Random House. Norman Cousins, Saturday Review, April 1981
abhors the way people leave their trash at the picnic sites in the park
Recent Examples on the Web Big-time scammers abhor blowing even cheap foreign labor on calls that victims hang up on. Charles Hammer, Kansas City Star, 28 Feb. 2024 More contemporary tropes also tend to cultivate sympathetic, romanticized villains, many of whom abhor their violent destinies, attempting to diminish their guilt by seeking morbid personalities to feed on. Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 14 Feb. 2024 Most of us who supported Trump in 2020 abhorred what happened after the election. Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 1 Jan. 2024 Henry Kissinger, former secretary of state both revered and reviled, dies at 100 Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state who is as admired as he is abhorred, has died at the age of 100. Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 30 Nov. 2023 Every inch of surface area is covered by astrological symbols, narrative reliefs, elephants, botanical motifs — a visual catalogue of Hinduism, conceived by someone who abhors blankness. Justin Davidson, Curbed, 9 Nov. 2023 This includes eschewing any preparation for the standardized national exams, which Correa abhors but the school system unequivocally embraces. Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2023 Huntington would almost certainly abhor many of the uses of his arguments, given his interpersonal decency, frequent travel to universities and legislatures around the world, mentorship of and friendship with people of color, and lifelong support for U.S. interests. Jordan Michael Smith, The New Republic, 19 Oct. 2023 The migrant families’ lawsuits against the government have placed the Biden administration in the awkward position of defending officials involved in a policy that President Biden abhorred. Maria Sacchetti, Washington Post, 26 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'abhor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English abhorren, borrowed from Latin abhorrēre, from ab- ab- + horrēre "to bristle, shiver, shudder" — more at horror entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of abhor was in the 15th century

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near abhor

Cite this Entry

“Abhor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abhor. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

abhor

verb
ab·​hor əb-ˈhȯ(ə)r How to pronounce abhor (audio)
ab-
abhorred; abhorring
: to shrink from in disgust
abhorrence
-ˈhȯr-ən(t)s
-ˈhär-
noun
abhorrer noun

More from Merriam-Webster on abhor

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!