Execrating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Uttering curses or expressing intense hatred and loathing toward someone or something
2. Strongly denouncing or verbally condemning with angry or hateful language
3. Reproaching or vehemently blaming someone in a way that shows extreme dislike or disgust

Etymology: Execrating is a form of "execrate", which goes back to Latin "exsecrari" and "execrari", built from "ex" meaning "out" and "sacrare", meaning "to consecrate" or "declare accursed". The surprise lies in that second root. The Latin verb pairs holiness with its opposite: to consecrate something was to set it apart as sacred, and the same verb could mean to set something apart as cursed. Both senses come from marking a thing off from ordinary use. Latin speakers used the verb to call down a curse, so to execrate someone was to invoke divine wrath against them. English took the word over with that religious weight intact, and the sense of calling for punishment still lingers in the modern meaning of loudly denouncing someone.

Synonyms: cursing, condemning, denouncing