Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ABHORRENT
Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.
pronounce
ABHORRENT:
Say it either "ub HORE unt" or "ab HORE unt."
I prefer "ab HORE unt."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
I can never resist referring to this scene from Despicable Me, where Vector has shrunk Gru's ship, and Gru's riding away on the miniaturized ship, complaining about how abhorrent Vector is:
Apparently I threw in that same quote ("Ugh, I hate that guy") as the hidden preview text for the issues for both execrate and anathema.
Could you explain the exact meaning of each? What does it mean when Gru execrates Vector? And what does it mean if Vector's antics are anathema to Gru? They've both got something to do with hate. Or disgust. And so does abhorrent, the word we're checking out today.
definition:
Our word "abhor," meaning "to hate, to loathe, to dislike strongly," has Latin roots that literally mean "to tremble away from." (That's why it looks a bit like "horror," "horrible," and "horrid.")
Something abhorrent, then, is so awful or so disgusting that people absolutely hate it.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Adjective: "their abhorrent behavior;" "This crime is abhorrent."
Other forms:
abhor, abhorred, abhorring;
abhorrently;
abhorrence
how to use it:
When words like "disgusting," "repugnant," and "despicable" aren't quite dramatic or sophisticated enough, pick "abhorrent."
Use it to describe words, actions, decisions, situations, and ideas: "That abhorrent nickname deeply offends him;" "They're guilty of using abhorrent tactics;" "These abhorrent conditions are killing workers;" "The thought of taking a human life is abhorrent to us."
Because this word is so often serious, it's good for an occasional jolt of sarcasm or exaggeration: "The slime comes in two colors: a sickening orange and a morally abhorrent shade of green."
examples:
"Illness in any form was abhorrent to him, contact with it unthinkable, and even to hear about it objectionable. When his young wife suffered from neuralgia—a thing which not infrequently happened—he put on his hat and walked out."
— Marie Saltus, Edgar Saltus: The Man, 1925
"An abhorrent practice called 'lunch shaming'...school systems have taken to a crude policy of publicly humiliating children tagged by computer as having a meal debt. Some schools literally take an indebted student's tray of food away from them, making a show of dumping it into the trash in front of everyone... Others actually brand the meal offenders, using markers to write 'I need lunch money' on the poor kids' arms!"
— Jim Hightower, Salon, 27 May 2017
has this page helped you understand "abhorrent"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "abhorrent" without saying "repugnant" or "revolting."
try it out:
Some things are abhorrent to everyone: murder, abuse, the sound of fingernails screeching down a chalkboard.
And some things are abhorrent only to some people. I find it abhorrent that an octopus has a beak. It gives me the shivers.
Talk about something that you, personally, find abhorrent, even though not everyone does.
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game this month is Perfectly Cromulent Words!
In each issue this month, match a scene from The Simpsons to the term that it calls to mind.
To see the answer, scroll to the bottom of the issue.
Try this one today:
Does the scene below suggest the word buffet, snafu, or kingcraft?
review this word:
1. A few near opposites of ABHOR include
A. SHELTER and INSULATE.
B. CLING TO and SINGLE OUT.
C. EMBRACE and CELEBRATE.
2. Sure, sometimes _____. But our working conditions certainly weren't abhorrent.
A. our manager would slip us each a free bottle of Coke
B. our machines broke and the angry customers yelled at us
C. our pranks wasted company resources, like when we filled every frame on the shelf with the same photo of Phteven, the chihuahua with an overbite
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Say it either "ub HORE unt" or "ab HORE unt."
I can never resist referring to this scene from Despicable Me, where Vector has shrunk Gru's ship, and Gru's riding away on the miniaturized ship, complaining about how abhorrent Vector is:
Our word "abhor," meaning "to hate, to loathe, to dislike strongly," has Latin roots that literally mean "to tremble away from." (That's why it looks a bit like "horror," "horrible," and "horrid.")
Part of speech:
When words like "disgusting," "repugnant," and "despicable" aren't quite dramatic or sophisticated enough, pick "abhorrent."
"Illness in any form was abhorrent to him, contact with it unthinkable, and even to hear about it objectionable. When his young wife suffered from neuralgia—a thing which not infrequently happened—he put on his hat and walked out."
Explain the meaning of "abhorrent" without saying "repugnant" or "revolting."
Some things are abhorrent to everyone: murder, abuse, the sound of fingernails screeching down a chalkboard.
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
1. A few near opposites of ABHOR include
|
