abominable

adjective

abom·​i·​na·​ble ə-ˈbäm-nə-bəl 

-ˈbä-mə-

1

formal : worthy of or causing disgust or hatred : detestable

the abominable treatment of the poor

an abominable crime

2

: very bad or unpleasant

abominable weather

abominably

ə-ˈbäm-nə-blē 

-ˈbä-mə-

adverb

being treated abominably

abominably bad weather

Did you know?

The tendency to hate evil omens is a vital part of the history of abominable. The word descends from the Latin verb abominari, which means "to deprecate as an ill omen" or "to detest"; abominari itself comes from ab- plus omin- ("from an omen"). When English speakers adopted abominable in the 14th century, they used it to express their disgust over evil or truly detestable things—and for 500 years that's the way things stood. In the 17th century, the word's meaning moderated, so that Scottish novelist William Black could write in A Princess of Thule (1873), "Sheila had nothing to do with the introduction of this abominable decoration." Other descendants of abominari are abominate ("to hate or loathe intensely") and abomination ("something odious or detestable").

Synonyms

• abhorrent
• appalling
• awful
• disgusting
• distasteful
• dreadful
• evil
• foul
• fulsome
• gross
• hideous
• horrendous
• horrible
• horrid
• loathsome
• nasty
• nauseating
• nauseous
• noisome
• noxious
• obnoxious
• obscene
• odious
• offensive
• rancid
• repellent
• repellant
• repugnant
• repulsive
• revolting
• scandalous
• shocking
• sickening
• ugly

Examples of abominable in a Sentence

It was an abominable crime.

your table manners are abominable!

Recent Examples on the Web

His new home is a notorious federal jail in New York City known for extreme violence and abominable medical care. —Rich Schapiro, NBC News, 18 Sep. 2024

But everyone agrees on one thing: The food was abominable. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 3 Sep. 2024

No matter how abominable the road surface—and Los Angeles has some of the roughest urban highways in all America—the airbags and multi-link suspension quietly absorb the hits while driver and master glide along. —Mark Ewing, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2024

By declaring motive irrelevant in assessing presidential liability for a crime, the majority invited questions about whether all kinds of abominable violations are now fair game. —Editorial Board, Washington Post, 1 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English abhomynable, abomynable, borrowed from Anglo-French abhominable, abominable, borrowed from Late Latin abōminābilis, abhominābilis (spelling influenced by Latin ab homine "from the man"), from abōminārī "to detest, abominate" + -ābilis -able

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing abominable

• abominable snowman

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Kids Definition

abominable

adjective

abom·​i·​na·​ble ə-ˈbäm-(ə-)nə-bəl 

formal

1

: deserving or causing disgust : hateful, detestable

abominable behavior

2

: quite disagreeable

abominable weather

abominably

-blē 

adverb