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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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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
Between the lines: Many undecideds are painfully trying to balance their sense of obligation with their detestation for Trump, as USA Today first detailed on Thursday.
—Erin Doherty, Axios, 14 Dec. 2024
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
Literary Hub, 3 Feb. 2026
Between the lines: Many undecideds are painfully trying to balance their sense of obligation with their detestation for Trump, as USA Today first detailed on Thursday.
—Erin Doherty, Axios, 14 Dec. 2024
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detestation
Noun
-
What was disturbing were people who sped past a foot away from elderly people, shouting obscenities with faces twisted in hatred.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Këkht Aräkh is not unique in his loneliness; the pain of being alone is as thematically central to DSBM as the hatred of Christianity.—
Sadie Sartini Garner,
Pitchfork,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Person after person portrayed Democrats as the enemy trying to drive a wedge between conservatives in an election year, where Republicans want to keep control of Congress and win races up and down the ballot.—
Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Swalwell was among those named by Patel, who has said that his critics are mischaracterizing the appendix by calling it an enemies list.—
Perry Stein The Washington Post,
Arkansas Online,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
These findings echo a broader pattern political scientists call affective polarization: the replacement of disagreement with abhorrence.—
Manvir Singh,
New Yorker,
27 Oct. 2025
-
When human decency and basic civility fall victim to partisanship and ideology, and abhorrence of violence becomes tempered by political aims, monstrosities and tyrannies become possible.—
Michael Bloomberg,
Twin Cities,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Fanning the flames of the drama was the mutual antipathy between the couples.—
Natasha O'Neill,
Vanity Fair,
26 Jan. 2026
-
The storyline has been that Apple can’t shoot straight; the antipathy of the Apple-using/hating commentators runs so deep that the critics dredged up the canard that Apple’s done nothing since former CEO Steve Jobs died.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
25 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Esmeralda Upton, authorities said, spewed hate and assaulted the women in the parking lot of a Plano restaurant.—
Marvin Hurst,
CBS News,
26 Mar. 2026
-
New Yorkers deserve solutions that meaningfully address hate violence — not political theater and half-measures.—
Audrey Sasson,
New York Daily News,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
This aversion to shooting first and questioning later has cost more than one good cop his life, but this fact seldom gets consideration.—
Dave Duffey,
Outdoor Life,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Lithgow — so nimble and charismatic and then suddenly so imposing, with no aversion to the grotesque — knows how to bring out the insecurity that almost always festers at the center of any performatively self-certain action.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
This, Wright imagined, was one way Proxi might display its analysis of players’ minds, an aerial map of loves, phobias, triumphs, losses, pets, and near misses plus all the associations connecting them.—
Eric Boodman,
Vulture,
25 Mar. 2026
-
In Atlanta, some people living with SAD, as well as social phobia or even simple shyness, are facing their fears in a novel way.—
Hunter Boyce,
AJC.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Yes, the opening animation was an abomination, but what followed was almost — almost — enough to make up for it.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Orthodox Jews viewed the pop-up novelty with its mixed troupes as an abomination, but young female actors and singers embraced the emancipatory promise of the stage.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Detestation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detestation. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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