What does execrated mean?
"Execrated" is the past tense and past participle of "execrate", a formal verb meaning to loathe deeply or to curse outright. To say that a figure was execrated is to convey more than mere dislike: it suggests public, vehement condemnation, often sustained across generations. The word appears chiefly in literary, historical, and academic writing — one might read that a dictator was execrated by his countrymen, or that a heresy was execrated by church authorities. Its force comes partly from its etymology: it derives from the Latin exsecrari, meaning to curse, formed from ex- plus sacer, meaning sacred — so to execrate was literally to devote something to destruction by divine sanction. Because of its elevated register and emotional intensity, "execrated" lends gravity to writing about moral outrage, denunciation, and lasting infamy, though it would sound stilted in casual conversation.
verb (past tense and past participle of execrate)Past tense and past participle of "execrate": to have expressed intense loathing or hatred for something, or to have cursed or denounced it vehemently.
- To have expressed intense hatred or loathing for someone or something.
- To have cursed or denounced someone or something, invoking evil upon it.
"The tyrant was execrated by generations of historians who condemned his cruelty."
"Critics execrated the novel as a betrayal of everything literature should be."
"The assembly execrated the traitor, calling down ruin upon his name."
"Execrated" shares its Latin root with "sacred": the ancient Romans literally made holy things out of curses, consecrating them to the gods.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of execrated
"Execrated" comes from the Latin exsecratus, past participle of exsecrari, meaning "to curse" or "to invoke evil upon", from ex- plus sacer (sacred). The verb entered English as "execrate" in the 16th century, alongside its noun form "execration" and adjective "execrable". It shares its root with "sacred" and "consecrate", reflecting the ancient practice of devoting an enemy to the gods for destruction.
Related word forms
How execrated is actually used
Formal and literary in register; rare in everyday speech. Carries a strongly negative connotation and often appears in passive constructions describing historical condemnation.
Easily confused with execrated
"Excreted" means discharged waste matter from the body, while "execrated" means cursed or intensely loathed — the words differ by only a letter but are unrelated in meaning.