hateful
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
very unpleasant or cruel, making you feel a strong sense of dislike or anger.
evoking intense aversion, hostility, or resentment due to perceived cruelty or malice.
Simple“The dictator was responsible for many hateful crimes against his own people.”
In context“The regime's history is marked by hateful acts of violence that continue to haunt the survivors decades later.”
Antonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
full of hate toward a person or a group, often because of their race, religion, or identity.
manifesting or expressing intense malice, often specifically in the context of prejudice or bigotry.
Simple“The website was taken down because it was full of hateful comments about immigrants.”
In context“The legislation was designed to curb the spread of hateful rhetoric that targets vulnerable minority groups in the digital sphere.”
Teacher's tipIn modern social contexts, this sense is frequently used in the phrase 'hateful speech' or 'hate speech' to describe bigoted language.
“Violet is bullied at school by a hateful little poppet and her friends who make fun of her birthmark and fantastic head of wavy, naturally crimped hair.”
From Middle English hateful. By surface analysis, hate + -ful.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.