detest
pronunciation
How to pronounce detest in British English:
UK [dɪˈtest]
How to pronounce detest in American English:
US [dɪˈtest]
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- Verb:
- dislike intensely; feel antipathy or aversion towards
Word Origin
- detest
- detest: [16] Latin dētestārī, source of detest, meant ‘denounce’. It was a compound verb formed from the pejorative prefix dē- and testārī ‘bear witness’. This in turn was a derivative of testis ‘witness’, source of English testify, testimony, and testicle. It retained its original sense of ‘cursing’ or ‘execration’ when first borrowed into English, but by the 18th century this had weakened from open denunciation to internal ‘loathing’.=> testicle, testify, testimony
- detest (v.)
- early 15c., "to curse, to call God to witness and abhor," from Middle French détester, from Latin detestari "to curse, execrate, abominate, express abhorrence for," literally "denounce with one's testimony," from de- "from, down" (see de-) + testari "be a witness," from testis "witness" (see testament). Related: Detested; detesting.
Example
- 1. Many national leaders heartily detest the european parliament .
- 2. It comes as no surprise that democrats detest mr scott 's budget .
- 3. I hate , despise , detest , and loathe the iphone keyboard .
- 4. But what they detest is the idea that it might let feckless italians and portuguese off the hook .
- 5. The french and now the chinese desire exchange rate stability but detest the inevitable result : an open-ended commitment to buying as many dollars as the us creates .