abhorrence

ab·hor·rence | \ əb-ˈhȯr-ən(t)s

How to pronounce abhorrence (audio)

, -ˈhär-, ab- \

Definition of abhorrence

1a : the act or state of abhorring or despising something or someone a crime regarded with abhorrence

b : a feeling of strong repugnance or disgust : loathing an abhorrence of war

2 : something regarded as repugnant or disgusting Slavery is an abhorrence.

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Examples of abhorrence in a Sentence

one of the changes in American society that remains a particular abhorrence of social conservatives my firm abhorrence of all forms of hypocrisy

Recent Examples on the Web Even so, Facebook seems to have crossed the line of tolerable abhorrence for some tech workers. — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, "The Silence of the Never Facebookers," 10 June 2020 So Sargent was willing to suspend his abhorrence and make an exception. — Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, "John Singer Sargent didn’t just paint the 1 percent. There was another, less-known side to his art.," 6 Mar. 2020 But that has collided with the politics of Germany, Europe’s largest and most influential economy, where a profound cultural abhorrence of debt has prompted the government to enforce budget austerity across the continent. — Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, "Global Health Crisis 1, Economic Policymakers 0," 3 Mar. 2020 In it, Correa revealed Altuve's abhorrence of his teammates' trash can banging scheme, plus a new explanation as to why Altuve did not want his jersey removed from his body after his walk-off to send the Astros to the World Series. — Chris Bumbaca, USA TODAY, "Carlos Correa defends Astros teammate Jose Altuve, says he never participated in the sign-stealing operation," 15 Feb. 2020 For instance, the Satanists' focus on fairness and social justice and their abhorrence to religious hypocrisy has resulted in them taking up several First Amendment cases—and sometimes winning. — Cady Drell, Marie Claire, "The Best Documentaries of 2019 That Are Already Changing Everything," 20 Mar. 2019 The newspapers have issued special editions with black borders, expressing abhorrence of the crime. — sandiegouniontribune.com, "June 29, 1914: Student assassinates Austrian heir," 29 June 2018 Because of their disorder, the subjects seem paralyzed by a fascination with and abhorrence of their sheer physicality. — Peter Keough, BostonGlobe.com, "An unflinching look at ‘The Pain of Others’," 28 June 2018 Even before Monday's passage, commissioner Rob Manfred had acknowledged a softening of baseball's hardline abhorrence of gambling. — Chandler Rome, Houston Chronicle, "Major League Baseball re-examining its stance on gambling," 14 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'abhorrence.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

14 Jun 2020

Cite this Entry

“Abhorrence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abhorrence. Accessed 14 Jul. 2020.

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