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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hateful
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
Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, McGraw blamed Trump for the hateful messages that WNBA players receive.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 15 Jan. 2026
When asked if hateful rhetoric and threats would impact their decision-making, Qaddoura and others emphasized that complying with bad behavior is counterproductive.
—Cate Charron, IndyStar, 15 Jan. 2026
Polak is a symbol of virtue where conscience reigns over fear and intimidation to refute the hateful and divisive rhetoric of people like Charile Kirk who self-righteously relished in denigrating and dehumanizing others in a most un-Christian way.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hateful
Michael Schaub, Oc Register, 16 Jan. 2026
Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, McGraw blamed Trump for the hateful messages that WNBA players receive.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 15 Jan. 2026
When asked if hateful rhetoric and threats would impact their decision-making, Qaddoura and others emphasized that complying with bad behavior is counterproductive.
—Cate Charron, IndyStar, 15 Jan. 2026
Polak is a symbol of virtue where conscience reigns over fear and intimidation to refute the hateful and divisive rhetoric of people like Charile Kirk who self-righteously relished in denigrating and dehumanizing others in a most un-Christian way.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hateful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hateful
Adjective
-
Their faltering attempt at a total crackdown—which can’t muzzle the anger and bravery of ordinary people—and its general odor of malicious incompetence, is even seeping into the White House’s hermetic media echo chamber.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Just like the ClickFix attacks, this malicious trickery is all about running commands that almost all users would never think to do in normal circumstances.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
That contraction represents a vicious cycle.—
Chris O'Falt,
IndieWire,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Benedict doesn’t realize that the woman who has entirely captured his attention is Sophie, the maid for the formidable Araminta Gun (Katie Leung), aka Lady Penwood and her daughters, the vicious and self-absorbed Rosamund Li (Michelle Mao) and the sweet but simple Posy Li (Isabella Wei).—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Young people are growing up in a climate that can feel cruel, divided or lonely.—
Julie Ruth Owen,
The Orlando Sentinel,
31 Jan. 2026
-
And cutting nurses’ health care benefits is just cruel.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Microsoft took months to fix Remote Desktop disconnection issues, then shipped a Windows Update that wiped out Copilot, and released updates that duplicated the Task Manager and created a nasty system recovery bug.—
Tom Warren,
The Verge,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Those might have increased here because of weak data, like the nasty drop in consumer confidence yesterday, or because of the expectation a new Fed chair will be more dovish.—
Kelly Evans,
CNBC,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hateful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hateful. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
