MEANING
To regard someone or something with intense disgust, hatred, or moral revulsion.
Use it for
Express deep disgust or principled hatred.Give a character’s moral or sensory revulsion a precise word.
Words that belong together
- abhor violence
- abhor injustice
- abhor the idea of
On the page
He abhorred the cruelty hidden beneath the polite ceremony.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Word forms
- Base
- abhor
- Past tense
- abhorred
- Past participle
- abhorred
- Present participle
- abhorring
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- abhor
- Present continuous
- am/is/are abhorring
- Present perfect
- have/has abhorred
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been abhorring
- Past
- abhorred
- Past continuous
- was/were abhorring
- Past perfect
- had abhorred
- Past perfect continuous
- had been abhorring
- Future
- will abhor
- Future continuous
- will be abhorring
- Future perfect
- will have abhorred
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been abhorring
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
A strong, formal verb that takes a direct object; it signals deep aversion, not mild dislike.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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