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adj. 1. Eliciting or deserving hatred. 2. Feeling or showing hatred: "After she'd drunk the cocktail ... Mary sat there seeing faces, hearing voices in a blank hateful haze" (John Dos Passos). 3. Informal Very unpleasant or unappealing: a hateful chore. hateful·ly adv. hateful·ness n. Synonyms: hateful, detestable, odious, offensive, repellent These often interchangeable adjectives describe what elicits or deserves strong dislike, distaste, or revulsion. Hateful refers to what evokes hatred or deep animosity: "No vice is universally so hateful as ingratitude" (Joseph Priestley). Detestable applies to what arouses abhorrence or scorn: detestable crimes against humanity. Something odious is the object of intense displeasure or aversion: "the odious practice of sending prisoners abroad to be tortured" (Ronald Dworkin). Offensive applies to what offends or insults: an offensive suggestion that the writer was guilty of plagiarism. Something repellent arouses repugnance or disgust: "[The motion picture code] banned the portrayal of repellent subjects—the sale of women, surgical operations, cruelty to children and animals" (Jeffrey Meyers). |
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