INDEX:
1. to feel strong dislike and anger towards someone or something
2. to hate something because it is unpleasant
3. a feeling of hating someone or something
4. someone or something that you hate
5. someone who hates you and wants to harm you
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ LOVE
see also
↑ DISLIKE
↑ ANGRY
↑ REVENGE
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1. to feel strong dislike and anger towards someone or something
▷ hate /heɪt/ [intransitive/transitive verb not in progressive]
▪ ‘Go away!’ Jackie screamed. ‘I hate you!’
▪ I hated my first husband. He used to hit me and the children.
▪ Turner was a rebel from the start. He hated authority and he hated the law.
▪ He was an evil dictator who was universally hated.
▪ It takes many years for kids who have suffered so much to learn to love and not to hate.
▷ hate somebody’s guts /ˌheɪt somebodyˈs ˈgʌts/ [verb phrase not in progressive] informal
to hate someone very much :
▪ I wish she’d die tomorrow. I hate her guts.
▪ The sergeant knew the men all hated his guts for the way he treated them.
▷ can’t stand /ˌkɑːnt ˈstændǁˌkænt-/ [verb phrase] especially spoken
to have a very strong feeling of dislike for a person or for their behaviour because they make you feel very angry or uncomfortable when you are with them :
▪ We used to be quite good friends but now I can’t stand her.
▪ I can’t stand the way he’s always telling people what they should do.
▪ If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s hypocrisy.
can’t stand the sight of somebody
▪ Don’t invite Alice. Mum can’t stand the sight of her.
▷ detest /dɪˈtest/ [transitive verb not in progressive]
to have a strong feeling of hatred, especially for a particular kind of person, or a particular type of behaviour :
▪ He was exactly the kind of arrogant, self-satisfied man I detest.
▪ I detest any form of cruelty toward animals.
▪ According to Hollywood gossip, both the leading actors were detested by the rest of the cast.
▷ loathe /ləʊð/ [transitive verb not in progressive]
to have a very strong feeling of hatred for someone or for a type of behaviour, because you think that they are the very worst kind of person or behaviour that there is :
▪ Mrs Morel loathed her husband when he was drunk and violent.
▪ Kemp was loathed by all the other prisoners, who regarded him as a traitor.
▪ I really loathe it when people make promises and then don’t keep them.
▷ despise /dɪˈspaɪz/ [transitive verb not in progressive]
to hate someone or something and think they have no importance or value :
▪ We were brought up to despise the people from the poor side of town. They seemed so dirty and ignorant.
▪ Otis despised inherited wealth and social class.
despise somebody for (doing) something
▪ I felt that the other kids despised me for having the wrong accent and the wrong colour skin.
▷ abhor /əbˈhɔːʳ, æb-/ [transitive verb not in progressive] formal
to hate a particular kind of behaviour or attitude, especially because you think it is morally wrong :
▪ The great majority of the Irish people have always abhorred violence.
▪ The president abhorred all forms of racism.
2. to hate something because it is unpleasant
▷ hate /heɪt/ [transitive verb not in progressive]
▪ I hate it when you speak to me like that.
▪ Tony hated science when he was at school because he wasn’t any good at it.
hate doing something
▪ If you’re playing against Gary, I warn you, he hates losing!
▪ Don’t go in now - she hates being interrupted.
hate to do something
▪ Hurry up - I hate to be late!
▷ can’t stand/can’t bear /ˌkɑːnt ˈstænd, ˌkɑːnt ˈbeəʳǁˌkænt-/ [verb phrase] especially spoken
to dislike something so much that you want to avoid it, because it upsets you, annoys you, or makes you feel ill :
▪ She stopped working in the factory because she couldn’t stand the smell.
▪ Turn the radio off. I can’t bear that noise.
can’t stand/can’t bear doing something
▪ He couldn’t bear seeing her in so much pain.
can’t stand/bear somebody doing something
▪ I can’t stand people smoking around me when I’m eating.
can’t stand/can’t bear to do something
▪ I can’t bear to think about the day she actually leaves home.
▷ detest /dɪˈtest/ [transitive verb not in progressive]
to hate something very much, especially a particular activity, taste, or smell :
▪ When he was at school he detested football.
▪ You don’t understand. It’s not just that I don’t like cabbage -- I absolutely detest it!
detest doing something
▪ I detested spending two hours every day travelling to work and back.
▷ loathe /ləʊð/ [transitive verb not in progressive]
to dislike something very much, especially because it makes you feel sick or nervous :
▪ She loathes spiders.
▪ If there’s one thing I really loathe, it’s long car journeys.
loathe doing something
▪ Even after years of practice, he still loathed making public speeches.
3. a feeling of hating someone or something
▷ hatred /ˈheɪtrɪd, ˈheɪtrəd/ [uncountable noun]
an angry feeling of deep dislike for someone or something :
▪ I could see the jealousy and hatred in Jeff’s eyes.
hatred of
▪ The long cold winter had only increased his hatred of the place.
have a hatred of something
▪ Tom had a hatred of any kind of authority.
hatred for/towards
use this about a feeling of hate for people, not things
▪ In her autobiography, she describes her hatred for her stepfather.
deep hatred
▪ The experience left him with a deep hatred of politicians.
▷ hate /heɪt/ [uncountable noun]
the angry feeling that someone has when they hate someone and want to harm them :
▪ There was anger and hate in her voice, and I felt afraid.
be filled with hate
▪ His mind was filled with hate and the desire for revenge.
▷ loathing /ˈləʊðɪŋ/ [uncountable noun]
a very strong feeling of hatred for someone or something that you think is extremely unpleasant :
loathing for/of
▪ I felt nothing but loathing for him after the way he’d treated me.
fear and loathing
▪ Sandra didn’t dare look at him, in case he saw the fear and loathing in her eyes.
▷ animosity /ˌænɪˈmɒsəti, ˌænəˈmɒsətiǁ-ˈmɑː-/ [uncountable noun]
a feeling of hatred and anger that often makes people behave unpleasantly to each other :
animosity between
▪ The animosity between parents who are getting a divorce can often cause great suffering to their children.
animosity towards
▪ David’s brother told reporters that the family felt no animosity towards anyone over David’s death.
personal animosity
for personal, not political reasons
▪ The two leaders have done very little to disguise their personal animosity.
▷ abhorrence /əbˈhɒrənsǁ-ˈhɔːr-/ [uncountable noun] formal
a deep feeling of hatred towards something that you think is morally wrong or unpleasant :
▪ The thought of marrying him filled her with abhorrence.
abhorrence of
▪ the abhorrence of terrorism by all decent people
▷ contempt /kənˈtempt/ [uncountable noun]
a feeling of hate towards someone or something you think does not deserve any respect at all :
contempt for
▪ He never tried to hide his contempt for those who were not as intelligent as him.
feel/have/show contempt
▪ I feel nothing but contempt for people who are obsessed with fast cars and designer clothes.
with contempt
▪ The teachers were very old-fashioned, treating any new ideas with contempt and scorn.
4. someone or something that you hate
▷ hated /ˈheɪtɪd, ˈheɪtəd/ [adjective only before noun]
▪ He quickly became the country’s most hated man./
the hated something/somebody
▪ The students, backed by the workers, managed to bring down the hated military regime.
▷ pet hate British /pet peeve American /ˌpet ˈheɪt, ˌpet ˈpiːv/ [countable noun] informal
something that you do not like, because it always annoys you - use this about something that is not very important :
▪ TV Game shows have been my pet hate for some time now.
▪ Mum’s particular pet peeve is people leaving their dirty clothes lying on the floor.
5. someone who hates you and wants to harm you
▷ enemy /ˈenəmi/ [countable noun]
▪ The detective wanted to know whether the dead man had had any enemies.
somebody’s enemy
▪ the president’s political enemies were quick to denounce him.