Wordwyrt

abhorrent

/æbˈhɔːɹənt/ab-HAW-ruhnt
/æbˈhɔɹənt/ab-HAW-ruhnt

Meaningcausing someone to abhor

Common meaning: hateful

Other meanings: disgusting

‘away, off’ + ‘to bristle’ → abhorrent

Journey through time

  1. Latinhorreō‘to bristle’
  2. Englishabhor‘to hate deeply’
  3. Englishformed in English from abhorabhorrent‘hateful’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from abhor + -ent.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), ABHOR, p.4 · scan

Roots

  • horreō Latin “to bristle; to shudder”

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