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

To fund Geneviève’s idea, she’s arranged for cash from an abominable source: Crispin Shamblee (Simon Callow), a fellow dance devotee with a limitless checkbook and zero morals. —Ben Travers, IndieWire, 24 Apr. 2025

The basic problem with some conservatives' embrace of this man is that Andrew Tate is an abominable human being. —Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025

Essay The Agony and the Ecstasy of the West Edmonton Mall Max Fawcett On learning to love the abominable mix of Soviet brutalism and unrelenting American capitalism around which Edmonton revolves. —Max Ufberg, hazlitt.net, 4 Jan. 2025

The clear attempt to further divide our country was abominable. —Vivian Jones, The Tennessean, 8 Mar. 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