as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
the girl's classmates were bullying her online, sending her hateful e-mails and text messages
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hateful
Since 2004, Orange County also has been predominantly nonwhite, but some conservative families, such as Woodward’s, bond over a hateful ideology.
—
The Week Us, TheWeek, 22 Jan. 2026
Members of Community Board 12 alerted the 66th Precinct on Tuesday after the hateful graffiti was found peppered throughout the park.
—Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026
On Monday, the mayors of Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County – both Jewish – publicly demanded accountability and called the incident hateful and unacceptable.
—Steven Yablonski, CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026
His new one tells the story of a young woman sent from the afterlife to guide a hateful oil baron through the process of dying — and what comes next.
—Michael Schaub, Oc Register, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hateful
The Week Us, TheWeek, 22 Jan. 2026
Members of Community Board 12 alerted the 66th Precinct on Tuesday after the hateful graffiti was found peppered throughout the park.
—Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026
On Monday, the mayors of Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County – both Jewish – publicly demanded accountability and called the incident hateful and unacceptable.
—Steven Yablonski, CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026
His new one tells the story of a young woman sent from the afterlife to guide a hateful oil baron through the process of dying — and what comes next.
—Michael Schaub, Oc Register, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hateful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hateful
Adjective
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Rodney Ward could face up to 25 years in prison for the charges of theft and malicious destruction of property.—
Caroline Foreback,
CBS News,
18 Feb. 2026
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Their poverty, the fruit of Salieri’s malicious ploys, tests the limits of their endurance.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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There are fun villains; Reggie’s nemesis is a sneakily vicious NFL alum (Craig Robinson) with the splendid name Jerry Basmati.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
20 Feb. 2026
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Anderson received the Sydney Schanberg Prize for his reporting on decades of war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where regional and global actors have fuelled one of the world’s most vicious entrenched conflicts.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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His lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, sought to show that his past had formed him, but there was a cruel irony in the reference.—
Gaby Wood,
Vogue,
21 Feb. 2026
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Many of these schools are impossibly competitive – impossibly and fantastically cruel.—
Anastasia Tsioulcas,
NPR,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Failing to check abatement expiration dates creates nasty surprises when incentives end.—
Allison Palmer
Updated February 20,
Kansas City Star,
20 Feb. 2026
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The club’s record £125million signing suffered a nasty leg break away to Spurs in December.—
Caoimhe O'Neill,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hateful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hateful. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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