despicability

noun

de·​spic·​a·​bil·​i·​ty

də̇ˌspikəˈbilətē,

-ətē,

-i also ˌdespə̇k- or ˌdeˌspik-

plural despicabilities

: a despicable quality or aspect

… when writers present to the world someone as unsympathetic as John Self or Humbert Humbert, they tend to sweeten the pill by offsetting the character's despicability with likeable qualities: irony, japery, or a fancy prose style.

—David Annand, The (London) Sunday Telegraph, 4 May 2014

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