abhorrent

ab·hor·rent | \ əb-ˈhȯr-ənt

How to pronounce abhorrent (audio)

, -ˈhär-, ab- \

Definition of abhorrent

1 : causing or deserving strong dislike or hatred : being so repugnant as to stir up positive antagonism acts abhorrent to every right-minded person

2 : not agreeable : contrary a notion abhorrent to their philosophy

3a : feeling or showing strong dislike or hatred

b archaic : strongly opposed

Other Words from abhorrent Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about abhorrent

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of abhorrent in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Today, amnesty is abhorrent to the GOP, and no Republican would dare to endorse such a policy. — Bruce Bartlett, The New Republic, "Trump’s Republican Party Is Erasing Reagan’s Memory," 31 Aug. 2020 What of Trump aides who devised, led or rationalized abhorrent policies but stopped short of possible crimes? — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, "Column: Shaming? Absolution? Jail? How to treat those complicit in Trump’s wrongdoing," 30 Oct. 2020 Even if not universally accepted at first, these treaties have shamed other countries into joining them or at least curbing the use of the abhorrent weapons. — Rick Gladstone, New York Times, "Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons Passes Important Threshold," 25 Oct. 2020 His open appeal to guile and his subversion of Christian norms were regarded as so abhorrent that, in 1559, the work would be listed in the Catholic Church’s Index of Prohibited Books. — National Geographic, "Machiavelli exposed the brutal truth about politics in a 'tell-all' treatise," 22 Oct. 2020 The Colts put themselves down 21-0 early in the second quarter with an abhorrent opening quarter on both sides of the ball. — Jim Ayello, The Indianapolis Star, "Philip Rivers, Colts rally to take down Bengals, 31-27," 18 Oct. 2020 During a qualifying match for Euro 2020, some of England's Black players were subjected to abhorrent racist abuse by large a section of Bulgaria fans, causing the game to be halted twice. — Matias Grez, Aleks Klosok And Darren Lewis, CNN, "'Little is being done': One year on from Bulgaria, football's fight against racism and discrimination is only just beginning," 14 Oct. 2020 Faced with publicly offensive behavior by employees outside of work, companies have a choice to make between holding onto someone with abhorrent views or risking a lawsuit by cutting ties. — Chase Difeliciantonio, SFChronicle.com, "Silicon Valley companies are rethinking free speech at the office," 11 Oct. 2020 The language used was abhorrent, unacceptable, and not representative of the values of FOX Sports. — Dave Clark, The Enquirer, "Fox chooses Kevin Kugler to replace Thom Brennaman in NFL play-by-play role, per report," 26 Aug. 2020

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

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about abhorrent

Dictionary Entries near abhorrent

Statistics for abhorrent

Last Updated

16 Nov 2020

Cite this Entry

“Abhorrent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abhorrent. Accessed 25 Nov. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

posthumous

Listen to the pronunciation of posthumous

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

A Thanksgiving Word Quiz

November comes from a word for which of the following numbers?

11 10
9 12

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.