as in vile
not following or in accordance with standards of honor and decency
the detestable actions of a nasty little man
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of detestable
Remember Paul Reiser's detestable Carter Burke in Aliens?
—
Randall Colburn, EW.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Top-notch casting is the cherry on top, with Lily James as the supremely likable Cinderella, Richard Madden as her down-to-earth prince, Cate Blanchett as the detestable stepmother with her own imperfect backstory, and Helena Bonham Carter as one lovably flighty fairy godmother.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2025
Can’t wait for the Stanley Cup window to close on Team Tank, easily the most detestable team in the League.
—Daniel Nugent-Bowman, The Athletic, 15 Mar. 2025
The film’s shadowy conspirators provide viewers with villains at once detestable and comfortingly familiar.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2020
See All Example Sentences for detestable
Randall Colburn, EW.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Top-notch casting is the cherry on top, with Lily James as the supremely likable Cinderella, Richard Madden as her down-to-earth prince, Cate Blanchett as the detestable stepmother with her own imperfect backstory, and Helena Bonham Carter as one lovably flighty fairy godmother.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2025
Can’t wait for the Stanley Cup window to close on Team Tank, easily the most detestable team in the League.
—Daniel Nugent-Bowman, The Athletic, 15 Mar. 2025
The film’s shadowy conspirators provide viewers with villains at once detestable and comfortingly familiar.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2020
See All Example Sentences for detestable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detestable
Adjective
-
In the season’s back half, neither its overloading of vile desecrations nor maudlin sentimentality adds anything that Monster hadn’t already established four episodes ago.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Koch’s vile conduct spawns a number of unnecessary fantasy sequences either brought on by the comics or wholly imagined by Ed.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Unlike previous seasons, Dorothy never makes immoral choices.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
-
This is disgraceful and immoral.—
Armando Garcia,
ABC News,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
For both areas, Painter hit the transfer portal and landed a dirty-work center in Cluff.—
CJ Moore,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Far from a knightly war, the German advance in 1941-1942 against France was a dirty one, with thieving of private property and menace against civilians.—
Christopher C. Gorham
September 29,
Literary Hub,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
And what about all that nasty mother stuff?—
Brian Tallerico,
Vulture,
4 Oct. 2025
-
The wedding ballads can wait; this nasty jam should still get the dancefloor packed in the meantime.—
Andrew Unterberger,
Billboard,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
That’s actually the cruelest thing about them.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The cold on August 27, 2011, was unprecedented—unbridled, utterly cruel.—
Mariana Enriquez
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The death of Pope Francis, sadly, has not escaped the attention of these truly contemptible criminals.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
-
At the time, some of LeBron’s critics saw this as contemptible.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
This kind of violence in a place of worship is despicable.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
-
Someone may have had the impulse to say something despicable about the assassination of Kirk or expressed some repulsive attitudes towards a particular group of people that warranted social pressure.—
Rafael Perez,
Oc Register,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
This pervasive fragmentation creates a vicious cycle.—
Emeka Ajene,
semafor.com,
29 Sep. 2025
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Two officers responded and learned the teen had barricaded himself inside the upper unit of the duplex with several vicious dogs, according to a search warrant.—
Chris Ramirez,
jsonline.com,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Detestable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detestable. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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