Synonyms of detestation

detestation

noun

ˌdē-ˌte-ˈstā-shən 

1

as in hatred

a very strong dislike

a congenital detestation of injustice, which drove her to become an activist for civil rights

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hatred
• distaste
• contempt
• disdain
• abhorrence
• loathing
• hate
• abomination
• execration
• spite
• disgust
• hostility
• malice
• jealousy
• resentment
• malignity
• repugnance
• revulsion
• bitterness
• malevolence
• meanness
• repulsion
• malignancy
• odium
• spitefulness
• scorn
• enmity
• hatefulness
• animosity
• antagonism
• antipathy
• despite
• aversion
• invidiousness
• maliciousness
• horror
• grudge
• bile
• rancor
• virulence
• pique
• despitefulness
• jaundice
• venom
• spleen
• vitriol
• cattiness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• love
• affection
• devotion
• admiration
• inclination
• worship
• appetite
• fondness
• acceptance
• tolerance
• liking
• adoration
• veneration
• taste
• passion
• relish

2

as in enemy

something or someone that is hated

the family's pickiest eater is quite vehement in expressing his feelings about boiled cabbage, a particular detestation of his

Synonyms & Similar Words

• enemy
• abhorrence
• antipathy
• hate
• aversion
• phobia
• abomination
• adversary
• execration
• anathema
• bête noire
• dread
• nuisance
• horror
• bugbear
• bugaboo
• annoyance
• grievance
• hang-up
• bogey
• peeve
• hassle

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• love
• beloved
• dear
• pleasure
• joy
• delight
• enjoyment
• darling
• honey
• preference
• sweetheart
• favorite
• felicity
• treasure
• like

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of detestation

How Nelson is reformulated from one who feels desire to one who feels detestation (as well as shame for having desired) is the remarkable achievement of both the story and the storyteller and the system that requires it. — Literary Hub, 3 Feb. 2026

One of the most memorable chapters epitomizes her detestation for the ultra-wealthy and pompous intellectuals who rushed to rationalize her work. — Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 20 Jan. 2024

Media coverage oscillated wildly between sycophantic applause and puritanical scrutiny - celebrities made to traipse an ephemeral, razor thin line between public adoration and detestation. — Colin Scanlon, Redbook, 4 Aug. 2023

That was the level of detestation and dedication to overturning Roe. — Tara Kole, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 July 2022

Others balance their detestation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine against other concerns. — Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, 21 Mar. 2022

Here all the liturgical phrases of the 19th-century religion of progress, which had seemed hollow and platitudinous to a young man growing up in America in detestation of the Sunday supplements, rang true. — John Dos Passos, National Review, 28 Sep. 2020

Germany has set aside its traditional detestation for debt to unleash emergency spending, while enabling the rest of the European Union to breach limits on deficits. — Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2020