loathe

L1O1A1T1H4E1
UK/ˈləʊð/US/ˈloʊð/

verb

To detest, hate, or revile (someone or something).

“I loathe scrubbing toilets.”

Similar
abhorabominatedespiseexecrate
OriginMiddle English lothe ← Old English lāþian ← Proto-West Germanic *laiþēn →
Less commonScrabble 9
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Meanings

verbloathe (third-person singular simple present loathes, present participle loathing, simple past and past participle loathed)

present singular third person loathes · participle present loathing · participle past loathed · past loathed · alternative loath

  1. transitiveTo detest, hate, or revile (someone or something).

    I loathe scrubbing toilets.

    5 more examples

    I absolutely loathe this place.

    Loathing the honeyed cakes, I long for bread.

    a. 1667, Abraham Cowley, Of Agriculture

    To Scriptures read they muſt their leaſure frame, / Then loath they will both luſt and wanton love; […]

    1576, George Whetstone, “The Castle of Delight: […]”, in The Rocke of Regard, […], London: […] [H. Middleton] for Robert Waley, →OCLC; republished in J[ohn] P[ayne] Collier, editor, The Rocke of Regard, […] (Illustrations of Early English Poetry; vol. 2, no. 2), London: Privately printed, [1867?], →OCLC, page 20

    […] O Hypocrites! ye hope for Enjoyment of Chriſt, but be perſwaded of it, Chriſt ſhall eternally loath you, and ye ſhall eternally loath Chriſt: […]

    1736, Andrew Gray, “Sermon VI. Acts xxvi. 18. …”, in Great and Precious Promises: or, Some Sermons Concerning the Promises, and the Right Application thereof. […], Glasgow: Printed by William Duncan, […], →OCLC, page 115

    Quick-loving hearts, I thought, may quickly loathe

    1850, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Sonnet XXXII”, in Sonnets from the Portuguese

    Synonyms: abhor, abominate, despise

  2. obsoleteTo induce or inspire disgust (in a person)

    How heartily he serves me! his face loathes one, But look upon his care, who would not love him?

    1622 (first performance), Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, The Changeling: […], London: […] [Thomas Newcombe] for Humphrey Moseley, […], published 1653, →OCLC, Act V, signature H2, verso

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo detest, hate, or revile (someone or something).

Similar
abhorabominatedespise

More synonyms by meaning

verbfind repugnant

Similar
abhorabominateexecrate
Broader
hatedetest
Also see
abhorabominateexecratehatespiteug

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*laiþāną
  2. Proto-West Germanic*laiþēn
  3. Old Englishlāþian
  4. Middle Englishlothe
  5. Englishloathe

From Middle English lothe, from Old English lāþian, from Proto-West Germanic *laiþēn, from Proto-Germanic *laiþāną. Cognate with Old Norse leiðask ( > Danish ledes, Icelandic leiðast, all reflexive), German Leid.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek στυγέω, βδελύσσομαι
  • στυγέω (stugéō)to detest, hate, revile
  • βδελύσσομαι (bdelússomai)to detest, hate, revile
Bulgarian ненавиждам
  • ненавиждам (nenaviždam)to detest, hate, revile
Catalan detestar, avorrir
  • detestarto detest, hate, revile
  • avorrirto detest, hate, revile
Chinese Mandarin 厭惡 /厌恶, 討厭 /讨厌
  • 厭惡 /厌恶 (yànwù)to detest, hate, revile
  • 討厭 /讨厌 (tǎoyàn)to detest, hate, revile
  • 嫌惡 /嫌恶 (xiánwù)to detest, hate, revile
Czech ošklivit si, hnusit si
  • ošklivit sito detest, hate, revile
  • hnusit sito detest, hate, revile
Danish afsky, hade
  • afskyto detest, hate, revile
  • hadeto detest, hate, revile
Dutch verafschuwen
  • verafschuwento detest, hate, revile
Esperanto abomeni, malamegi
  • abomenito detest, hate, revile
  • malamegito detest, hate, revile
Estonian vihkama, jälestama
  • vihkamato detest, hate, revile
  • jälestamato detest, hate, revile
Finnish inhota
  • inhotato detest, hate, revile
French exécrer, détester
  • exécrerto detest, hate, revile
  • détesterto detest, hate, revile
  • haïrto detest, hate, revile
German verabscheuen, ablehnen
  • verabscheuento detest, hate, revile
  • ablehnento detest, hate, revile
  • hassento detest, hate, revile
Hungarian gyűlöl, ki nem állhat
  • gyűlölto detest, hate, revile
  • ki nem állhatto detest, hate, revile
  • utálto detest, hate, revile
Italian detestare, odiare
  • detestareto detest, hate, revile
  • odiareto detest, hate, revile
  • aborrireto detest, hate, revile
  • abominareto detest, hate, revile
Japanese 大嫌い, 忌み嫌う
  • 大嫌い (daikirai)to detest, hate, revile
  • 忌み嫌う (imikirau)to detest, hate, revile
  • 唾棄する (daki suru)to detest, hate, revile
Latin abōminor
  • abōminorto detest, hate, revile
Māori whakaetieti, mauāhara
  • whakaetietito detest, hate, revile
  • mauāharato detest, hate, revile
Norwegian avsky
  • avskyto detest, hate, revile
Persian متنفر بودن
  • متنفر بودن (motenaffer budan)to detest, hate, revile
Polish nienawidzić, gardzić
  • nienawidzićto detest, hate, revile
  • gardzićto detest, hate, revile
Portuguese detestar
  • detestarto detest, hate, revile
Romanian dușmăni, detesta
  • dușmănito detest, hate, revile
  • detestato detest, hate, revile
  • urîto detest, hate, revile
Russian ненави́деть, не выноси́ть
  • ненави́деть (nenavídetʹ)to detest, hate, revile
  • не выноси́ть (ne vynosítʹ)to detest, hate, revile
  • не люби́ть (ne ljubítʹ)to detest, hate, revile
Scottish Gaelic fuathaich
  • fuathaichto detest, hate, revile
Spanish detestar, repugnar
  • detestarto detest, hate, revile
  • repugnarto detest, hate, revile
  • odiarto detest, hate, revile
Turkish iğrenmek
  • iğrenmekto detest, hate, revile
Ukrainian нена́видіти
  • нена́видіти (nenávydity)to detest, hate, revile
Yiddish פֿײַנט האָבן
  • פֿײַנט האָבן (faynt hobn)to detest, hate, revile

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with loathe

clothebetrothunclothe
All rhymes →

Anagrams

OlatheTheola
Cite this entry
APA

loathe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/loathe

MLA

“loathe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/loathe. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “loathe,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/loathe.

Source: loathe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.