Meanings
comparative more execrable · superlative most execrable
- Of the poorest quality.
As execrable as the Supreme Court’s decisions have been, they are of a piece with the conservative rulings from lower court judges who see no issue with laundering a revanchist policy agenda through contorted rulings.
2024, G. S. Hans, Law Professors Can’t Keep Carrying Water For the Supreme Court, in: Balls and Strikes, August 5 2024 - Hateful, disgusting.
But is an enemy so execrable, that, though in captivity, his wishes and comforts are to be disregarded and even crossed? I think not. It is for the benefit of mankind to mitigate the horrors of war as much as possible.
1779, Jefferson, letter to Patrick Henry written on March 271 more example
The arcanely evil words of that despicable, loathsome, suppressed, vile, pululating ^([sic]), odious, nictating, repellent, repugnant, noxious, abhorrent, abominable, tory, execrable, nauseous work, Ye Boke of Guts, moved as if on a conveyor belt before his eyes.
2001 June 1, David Langford with John Grant, Guts: A Comedy of Manners, Wildside Press, →ISBN, page 72
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveof very poor quality or condition
adjectiveunequivocally detestable
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinexecrabilis
- Old Frenchexecrable
- Englishexecrable
From Old French execrable, from Latin execrabilis.
More words from Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian долен, омразен
- долен (dolen)of the poorest quality
- омразен (omrazen)hateful
Dutch verfoeilijk
- verfoeilijkhateful
Finnish inhottava, iljettävä
- inhottavahateful
- iljettävähateful
- kuvottavahateful
French exécrable
- exécrableof the poorest quality
German armselig, erbärmlich
- armseligof the poorest quality
- erbärmlichof the poorest quality
- abscheulichhateful
- grässlichhateful
- widerwärtighateful
Italian esecrabile, esecrando
- esecrabileof the poorest quality
- esecrandohateful
Latin execrabilis
- execrabilisof the poorest quality
Norwegian Bokmål elendig, kummerlig
- elendigof the poorest quality
- kummerligof the poorest quality
- avskyelighateful
- viderverdighateful
Polish okropny, okropny
- okropnyof the poorest quality
- okropnyhateful
Portuguese execrável
- execrávelof the poorest quality
Romanian execrabil
- execrabilof the poorest quality
Russian отврати́тельный, отта́лкивающий
- отврати́тельный (otvratítelʹnyj)hateful
- отта́лкивающий (ottálkivajuščij)hateful
Spanish execrable
- execrableof the poorest quality
Swedish vedervärdig, usel
- vedervärdigof the poorest quality
- uselof the poorest quality
- avskyvärdhateful
Cite this entry
execrable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/execrable
“execrable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/execrable. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “execrable,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/execrable.
Source: execrable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.