hate´less

hate «hayt», verb, hat|ed, hat|ing, noun, adjective.

–v.t.

1. to dislike very much; detest: »

Cats usually hate dogs. Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you (Luke 6:27).

2. to be very averse or unwilling; dislike: »

I hate to travel alone. The easy-going who hate being bothered (Thomas Hardy).

–v.i.

to feel hatred: »

She hated easily; she hated heartily; and she hated implacably (Macaulay).

–n.

1. a very strong dislike; detestation: »

He felt hate toward his enemies.

2. an object of hatred: »

Snakes are her special hate.

–adj.

1. characterized by or showing hate: »

Bigots…have been writing me hate letters because of my pronouncements (New York Times).

2. arousing hatred, especially against certain races and nationalities: »

hate literature.

3. inspired by racial, ethnic, or sexual prejudice: »

[The] Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center specializes in suing hate groups (Time).

╂[Old English hatian]

–hate´a|ble, adjective.

–hate´less, adjective.

Synonym Study transitive verb. 1 Hate, detest, abhor mean to dislike someone or something very much. Hate, the general word, implies very strong dislike and hostility, and often the desire to hurt or harm: »

The prisoners hated the cruel guards.

Detest suggests strong or deep, fixed dislike mixed with scorn: »

I detest a coward.

Abhor suggests a profound dislike that makes one shudder or shrink away from someone or something: »

I abhor filth of any kind.