detest en · VERB
Pronunciation
- /dɪˈtɛst/
- (US) audio
Etymology
PIE word *tréyes From Middle French detester (French détester), from Latin dētestor (“to imprecate evil while calling the gods to witness", "denounce", "hate intensely”), from dē- + testor (“to testify, bear witness”), from testis (“a witness”); see test, testify. Doublet of detestate.
Meanings
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(transitive) To dislike (someone or something) intensely; to loathe.
I detest snakes.
Who dares think one thing, and another tell, / My heart detests him as the gates of hell.
1715–1720, Homer, “Book IX”, in Alexander Pope, transl., The Iliad of Homer, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC:Nurse Cramer had a cute nose and a radiant, blooming complexion dotted with fetching sprays of adorable freckles that Yossarian detested.
1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 171:
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(obsolete, transitive) To witness against; to denounce; to condemn.
The heresy of Nestorius […] was detested in the Eastern churches.
1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):God hath detested them with his own mouth.
1545, John Bale, The Image of Both Churches:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| detests | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| detesting | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| detested | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| detested | Tense=Past | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
hate · detestable · loathe · despise · disdain · dislike · detestation · abhor
Translations (37)
fr détester (to dislike intensely) · ja ひどく嫌う (to dislike intensely) · la odi (to dislike intensely) · tr tiksinmek (to dislike intensely) · sco laith (to dislike intensely) · ca detestar (to dislike intensely) · pl nienawidzić (to dislike intensely) · bg ненавиждам (to dislike intensely) · ga an ghráin a bheith agat ar (to dislike intensely) · ru ненави́деть (to dislike intensely) · ja 大嫌い (to dislike intensely) · cs hnusit si (to dislike intensely) · cs ošklivit si (to dislike intensely) · eo malamegi (to dislike intensely) · es detestar (to dislike intensely) · eo abomeni (to dislike intensely) · de verabscheuen (to dislike intensely) · it detestare (to dislike intensely) · nl verafschuwen (to dislike intensely) · pt detestar (to dislike intensely) · cmn 恨死 (to dislike intensely) · th ชิงชัง (to dislike intensely) · hu gyűlöl (to dislike intensely) · cmn 厭恨 /厌恨 (to dislike intensely) · la execror (to dislike intensely) · la exsecror (to dislike intensely) · izh inhota (to dislike intensely) · nb avsky (to dislike intensely) · fi inhota (to dislike intensely) · la abōminor (to dislike intensely) · th รังเกียจ (to dislike intensely) · pt odiar (to dislike intensely) · pl nie cierpieć (to dislike intensely) · bg мразя (to dislike intensely) · sv avsky (to dislike intensely) · gd fuathaich (to dislike intensely) · fr mépriser (to dislike intensely)