odium

O1D2I1U1M3
UK/ˈəʊ.di.əm/US/ˈoʊ.di.əm/

noun

Hatred; dislike.

“His conduct brought him into odium, or, brought odium upon him.”

UncommonScrabble 8

Meanings

nounodium (countable and uncountable, plural odiums)

plural odiums

  1. countableuncountableHatred; dislike.

    His conduct brought him into odium, or, brought odium upon him.

    2 more examples

    And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens, (who devote themselves to the favorite nation,) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding, with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation.

    1796, George Washington, "Farewell Address", American Daily Advertiser

    ‘I warned you, if you give evidence against your husband, you will be shunned. You will be held in odium. You will be alone.’

    2020, Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light, Fourth Estate, page 207
  2. countableuncountableThe quality that provokes hatred; offensiveness.

    She threw the odium of the fact on me.

    1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act V, page 82

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₃ed-
  2. Proto-Italic*odjom
  3. Latinodium
  4. Englishodium

Learned borrowing from Latin odium, from Proto-Italic *odjom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed-.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with odium

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Sounds the same

Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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