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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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
-
Marty Muggle-Wump is part of the clever monkey duo determined to outsmart their vile captors, perfectly voiced by Timothy Simons.—
Jane LaCroix,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
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The vile, racist, bigoted, and antisemitic dialogue that has been reported is deeply disturbing.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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It was considered immoral to lie and the whole point of writing things down back then was to increase morality and improve society, so there really is no didactic history of forgery.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
16 Oct. 2025
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Unlike previous seasons, Dorothy never makes immoral choices.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Two days later and nearly 400 miles to the west, good Samaritans found two baby girls crying on the dirty floor of a park restroom in the working-class coastal California city of Oxnard.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
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Yellow or orange flames might indicate a problem with combustion or dirty burners.—
Lauren Bengtson,
Better Homes & Gardens,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The Twits are so gross and puerile and nasty in the book.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
17 Oct. 2025
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New York, though, has a nasty triumvirate in Carter, Thibodeaux and Brian Burns, the last of whom is having an early career year with seven sacks.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In Dahl’s original story, the Muggle-Wumps are clever and resourceful, using their smarts to turn the tables on their cruel captors.—
Jane LaCroix,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
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On the page, these serve to paint him in a monstrous light following his abandonment by his egotistical and cruel creator, Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac).—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
17 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
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At the time, some of LeBron’s critics saw this as contemptible.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Your job is to break up the wrecks of massive ships and space hulks, carving them apart to release valuable components which can be reused or recycled at huge profits by your despicable space overlords.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
7 Oct. 2025
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This kind of violence in a place of worship is despicable.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Those stiffed in this initial round are rendered unable to meet their own bills and a vicious cycle ensues.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
19 Oct. 2025
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In Black Phone 2, McGraw has been upgraded to the de facto lead actor, and Gwen’s foul-mouthed takedowns are even more vicious.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Detestable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detestable. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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