ENGLISH
REFERENCE

abominable

adj.
C1 Advanced US //əˈbɑmənəbəɫ// UK //ɐbˈɒmɪnəbəl// abom·inable Archaic

adj. extremely bad, cruel, or shocking. You use this to describe things that are so awful they make you feel sick or angry.

adj. causing extreme moral or physical revulsion; deserving of hatred or condemnation. Often used to describe conditions, actions, or qualities that are exceptionally vile or wicked.


SIMPLE

The weather was abominable during the entire trip.

CONTEXTUAL

The witness described the abominable conditions in the prison where the prisoners were kept.

COMPLEX

The philosopher argued that certain abominable acts, though technically legal, should be universally condemned by any society that values human dignity.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English abhomynable, from Old French abominable, from Late Latin abōminābilis (“deserving abhorrence”), from abōminor (“abhor, deprecate as an ill omen”), from ab (“from, away from”) + ōminor (“forebode, predict, presage”), from ōmen (“sign, token, omen”). Formerly erroneously folk-etymologized as deriving from Latin ab- + homo, literally "away from humankind," and therefore spelled abhominable, abhominal (Hence, Shakespeare puns on this when Hamlet speaks of incompetent actors that "imitate humanity abominably.")

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