Meanings
plural odiums
- 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 - 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
nounhate coupled with disgust
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₃ed-
- Proto-Italic*odjom
- Latinodium
- Englishodium
Learned borrowing from Latin odium, from Proto-Italic *odjom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed-.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with odium
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Cite this entry
odium. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/odium
“odium.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/odium. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “odium,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/odium.
Source: odium on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.