What does abominated mean?
Abominated is the past tense and past participle of the formal verb "abominate," which means to detest or loathe something intensely — to regard it with profound disgust or moral revulsion. To say someone abominated a practice is to say they hated it not merely mildly but with deep, often principled aversion. The word carries a strong, emphatic connotation and is used mainly in literary, historical, or elevated prose rather than everyday speech. In modern English it appears most naturally in statements such as "she abominated cruelty in all its forms" or "the Victorians abominated public displays of affection." Its more familiar relatives are the noun "abomination" (something utterly detestable) and the adjective "abominable" (thoroughly unpleasant or morally repugnant), both of which descend from the same Latin root. Though rare as a standalone verb form, abominated offers writers a precise way to express intense, considered hatred — stronger than dislike or disapproval, yet more deliberate than mere disgust.
Past tense and past participle of abominate: to have detested or loathed intensely; to have regarded with disgust or hatred.
"She abominated the noise and chaos of the city."
Formal register; the base verb "abominate" is itself uncommon today.
Used attributively (as a past participle) to describe something that is or has been intensely detested, e.g. "an abominated practice."
"The treaty abolished an abominated trade that had persisted for centuries."
This participial use is rare but grammatically valid.
Before "abomination" meant something disgusting, it meant an ill omen: the Latin root ties this word of loathing directly to ancient Roman bird-watching fortune-tellers.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of abominated
Abominated traces back through Middle English and Old French "abominacion" to Latin "abominari," meaning "to deprecate as an ill omen" — formed from "ab" (away from) and "omen." In ancient Rome, an omen was a sign observed by augurs, so to "abominate" originally carried the sense of rejecting something as foreboding evil. Over time the religious and superstitious sense gave way to a general meaning of intense loathing, and the word came to denote passionate detestation of anything deemed morally repugnant.
Related word forms
How abominated is actually used
Formal and somewhat literary in register; far more common in its noun form (abomination) or adjective form (abominable) than as a verb. The past participle can also function adjectivally in constructions like "a practice long abominated."
Easily confused with abominated
"Abomination" is a noun denoting the thing that causes disgust, while "abominated" is a verb form describing the act of feeling that disgust.
"Nominate" means to propose or appoint someone for a position, whereas "abominate" means to loathe — they share only a superficial phonetic resemblance.