abhorrent
adj.adj. causing a strong feeling of disgust or horror. You use this to describe things that are so bad or cruel that they make you feel sick.
adj. causing extreme revulsion or horror; deeply offensive to moral or social standards. Often used to describe violent or unethical behavior.
The abhorrent treatment of the prisoners shocked the world.
The committee rejected the abhorrent proposal to cut funding for basic medical research.
While the law provides a framework for justice, the abhorrent nature of the crime made it difficult for the jury to reach a unanimous verdict.
Borrowed from Latin abhorrēns, abhorrēntis, present active participle of abhorreō (“abhor”). Equivalent to abhor + -ent.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 18, 2026