abominable

From Middle English abhomynable, from Old French abominable, from Late Latin abōminābilis (“deserving abhorrence”), from abōminor (“abhor, deprecate as an ill omen”), from ab (“from, away from”) + ōminor (“forebode, predict, presage”), from ōmen (“sign, token, omen”). Formerly erroneously folk-etymologized as deriving from Latin ab- + homo and therefore spelled abhominable, abhominal; see those entries for more.

• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈbɑm.ə.nə.bl̩/, /əˈbɑm.nə.bl̩/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ɘˈbɔm.ɘ.nɘ.bɯ/

• Audio (California):

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abominable (comparative more abominable, superlative most abominable)

1. Worthy of, or causing, abhorrence, as a thing of evil omen; odious in the utmost degree; very hateful; detestable; loathsome; execrable. ^[1]
   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Revelation 21:8, column 1:

     But the feareful, and vnbeleeuing, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and ſorcerers, and idolaters, and all lyars, ſhall haue their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimſtone: which is the ſecond death.

   • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:

     The parish stank of idolatry, abominable rites were practiced in secret, and in all the bounds there was no one had a more evil name for the black traffic than one Alison Sempill, who bode at the Skerburnfoot.

   • 1861, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Section 61”, in Offences against the Person Act 1861‎^{s:Offences against the Person Act 1861}, page 833:

     Whosoever shall be convicted of the abominable Crime of Buggery, committed either with Mankind or with any Animal, shall be liable, at the Discretion of the Court, to be kept in Penal Servitude for Life or for any Term not less than Ten Years.

2. (obsolete) Excessive, large (used as an intensifier).
3. Very bad or inferior.
4. Disagreeable or unpleasant. ^[1]
   • 2017 July 8, Zoe Williams, “Fit in my 40s: 'The brute fact is, something must be done'”, in The Guardian‎:

     I want to go faster on my bike than a person with a beard. I want to be the first to own whatever’s the next spiraliser. I want it all: a carapace of insouciance over rock-hard triceps.
     This is an abominable thing to want, vain in every sense. But I’m going to set out to do whatever it takes not to decay faster than other people, and report it accurately and fairly.

• abhominable (obsolete, based on folk etymology), abhominal (obsolete, based on folk etymology)

• → Norwegian Bokmål: abominabel

• “abominable”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “abominable”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “abominable”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Borrowed from Late Latin abōminābilis.

• IPA^(key): (Central)
• IPA^(key): (Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencia)
• Rhymes: -ablə, -able

abominable m or f (masculine and feminine plural abominables)

1. abominable

• abominablement

• abominar
• abominació

Learned borrowing from Late Latin abōminābilis (“abominable, detestable”).

• IPA^(key): /a.bɔ.mi.nabl/

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

• Homophone: abominables

abominable (plural abominables)

1. absolutely loathsome; abominable
2. Exceedingly bad or ugly; abominable

• Most terms of the second category also have literal meanings closer to that of the first, but are now less common in these uses, as well as marking actions that are not as markedly odious.
• (loathsome): odieux, méprisable, ignoble, sacrilège (religious), impie (religious)
• (exceedingly bad or ugly): laid, détestable, exécrable, horrible

• abominable homme des neiges
• abominablement

• “abominable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

• abominábel
• abominável (reintegrationist)

From Late Latin abōminābilis.

abominable m or f (plural abominables)

1. abominable

• abominación
• abominar

• “abominable”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2024

abominable

1. Alternative form of abhomynable

• IPA^(key): /abɔmɪˈnɑːblə/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːblə
• Hyphenation: a‧bo‧mi‧na‧ble

abominable

1. definite singular of abominabel
2. plural of abominabel

Borrowed from Late Latin abōminābilis.

• IPA^(key): /abomiˈnable/

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: a‧bo‧mi‧na‧ble

abominable m or f (masculine and feminine plural abominables)

1. abominable

• “abominable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10