Abhorred

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əbˈhɔːd/

Definitions

1. To feel an intense and profound hatred towards something, marked by strong feelings of disgust and loathing
2. Experienced a powerful aversion and deep repugnance towards someone or something
3. Had strong feelings of revulsion and detestation for a person, thing, or idea

Etymology: Latin "horreō" meant "to bristle", and the image is physical: the hair on the skin stands up in fear or revulsion. Add "ab-", "from", and "abhorreō" described a recoil so strong that a person pulled away from the thing, shrinking back as if from something dreadful. That bodily flinch is still built into the word's core. The verb reached English in the 1400s, first recorded in 1449, through Middle French "abhorrer" and Middle English "abhorren". In its early English use it carried the same force as its Latin source: to regard something with a shudder of horror, not simply to dislike it. "Abhorred" is the past form of that verb, so it describes something that was once met with that full recoil.

Synonyms: detested, loathed, hated

Antonyms: loved, admired, cherished