Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Detest
De-test′
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Detested
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Detesting
.] [L.
detestare
, detestatum
, and detestari
, to curse while calling a deity to witness, to execrate, detest; de
+ testari
to be a witness, testify, testis
a witness: cf. F. détester
. See Testify
.] 1.
To witness against; to denounce; to condemn.
[Obs.]
The heresy of Nestorius . . . was
detested
in the Eastern churches. Fuller.
God hath
detested
them with his own mouth. Bale.
2.
To hate intensely; to abhor; to abominate; to loathe;
as, we
. detest
what is contemptible or evil
Syn. – To abhor; abominate; execrate. See
Hate
. Webster 1828 Edition
Detest
DETEST
,Verb.
T.
Definition 2024
detest
detest
English
Verb
detest (third-person singular simple present detests, present participle detesting, simple past and past participle detested)
- (transitive) To dislike intensely; to loathe.
- I detest snakes.
- Who dares think one thing, and another tell, / My heart detests him as the gates of ****. — Pope.
- (obsolete) To witness against; to denounce; to condemn.
- The heresy of Nestorius […] was detested in the Eastern churches. — Fuller.
- God hath detested them with his own mouth. — Bale.
Usage notes
- This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing). See Appendix:English catenative verbs
Synonyms
- See also Wikisaurus:hate
Related terms
Translations
to dislike intensely
See also
External links
- detest in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- detest in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911