1
: the state or fact of being subjected to hatred and contempt as a result of a despicable act or blameworthy circumstance
These three artists had finally started losing their odium …—
Janet Flanner
Janet Flanner2
: hatred and condemnation accompanied by loathing or contempt : detestation
… the odium of one's fellow citizens was a fate to be feared.—New Republic
New Republic3
: disrepute or infamy attached to something : opprobrium
the odium that clung to the reprehensible event
Examples of odium in a Sentence
time did nothing to diminish the odium in which the traitor lived out his days
Recent Examples on the Web
Pashinyan had led the movement to oust Moscow’s influence in Armenia; he was now saddled with the odium of losing Karabakh on his watch.
—Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024
By making such statements with actual malice to the public and also through social media, each of the defendants knew or should have known that their comments would be widely disseminated, exposing Judge Moore to disgrace, ridicule, odium and contempt resulting in compensatory and punitive damages.
—Paul Gattis | Pgattis@al.com, al, 29 Nov. 2022
This season will only add to the odium.
—Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2022
By heaping odium on Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, one of several prominent opposition figures, the government gave a divided opposition a leader to unite around.
—Christopher De Bellaigue, The New York Review of Books, 13 Oct. 2022
The Buccaneers were the team willing to absorb the odium of signing Brown in 2020 after a series of incidents that transformed one of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL into someone that most teams thought wasn’t worth the risk because of his behavior.
—Andrew Beaton, WSJ, 2 Jan. 2022
In addition, the odium among the Left is so pernicious and so ubiquitous that the surveyors themselves may pollute the very taking of polls.
—Victor Davis Hanson, National Review, 31 Dec. 2019
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Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024
By making such statements with actual malice to the public and also through social media, each of the defendants knew or should have known that their comments would be widely disseminated, exposing Judge Moore to disgrace, ridicule, odium and contempt resulting in compensatory and punitive damages.
—Paul Gattis | Pgattis@al.com, al, 29 Nov. 2022
This season will only add to the odium.
—Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2022
By heaping odium on Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, one of several prominent opposition figures, the government gave a divided opposition a leader to unite around.
—Christopher De Bellaigue, The New York Review of Books, 13 Oct. 2022
The Buccaneers were the team willing to absorb the odium of signing Brown in 2020 after a series of incidents that transformed one of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL into someone that most teams thought wasn’t worth the risk because of his behavior.
—Andrew Beaton, WSJ, 2 Jan. 2022
In addition, the odium among the Left is so pernicious and so ubiquitous that the surveyors themselves may pollute the very taking of polls.
—Victor Davis Hanson, National Review, 31 Dec. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Odium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/odium. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
odium
noun
odi·um
ˈōd-ē-əm 
1
: the state of being generally hated
2
: the disgrace or shame attached to something considered hateful
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