as in vile
not following or in accordance with standards of honor and decency
the detestable actions of a nasty little man
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Recent Examples of detestable
Social media soon was flooded with posts from people who found the character detestable, and the actor had no problem with that.
—
Matt Robison, Newsweek, 19 Feb. 2025
What’s more, a loss at Hell in a Cell could also force McIntyre to become an even more detestable heel in the weeks and months ahead.
—Blake Oestriecher, Forbes, 5 Oct. 2024
Top-notch casting is the cherry on top, with Lily James as the supremely likable Cinderella, Richard Madden as her down-to-earth prince, Cate Blanchett as the detestable stepmother with her own imperfect backstory, and Helena Bonham Carter as one lovably flighty fairy godmother.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2025
Can’t wait for the Stanley Cup window to close on Team Tank, easily the most detestable team in the League.
—Daniel Nugent-Bowman, The Athletic, 15 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for detestable
Matt Robison, Newsweek, 19 Feb. 2025
What’s more, a loss at Hell in a Cell could also force McIntyre to become an even more detestable heel in the weeks and months ahead.
—Blake Oestriecher, Forbes, 5 Oct. 2024
Top-notch casting is the cherry on top, with Lily James as the supremely likable Cinderella, Richard Madden as her down-to-earth prince, Cate Blanchett as the detestable stepmother with her own imperfect backstory, and Helena Bonham Carter as one lovably flighty fairy godmother.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2025
Can’t wait for the Stanley Cup window to close on Team Tank, easily the most detestable team in the League.
—Daniel Nugent-Bowman, The Athletic, 15 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for detestable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detestable
Adjective
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The Imperial City Sewers you’re meant to traverse while learning the basics of the game look hideous and vile.—
Jamal Michel,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025
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While he’s gone, Louise really does give it the ol’ college try with Dane, who hurls threats, vile insults, and more threats in her direction.—
Sara Netzley,
EW.com,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Even children and adolescents express more willingness to shun and punish moral transgressors than people who do something personally obnoxious or offensive but not immoral.—
Jen Cole Wright,
The Conversation,
14 Apr. 2025
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Regardless of what transpired between the two cast members, on or off screen, Aspen was unfairly portrayed as an immoral character.—
Taylor Crumpton,
Essence,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Coal plants are also the dirtiest fossil fuel in terms of planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions.—
Sammy Roth,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2025
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They were bullied, beaten, humiliated, tortured and shot, with productive laborers crammed on top of one another in the dirty stone barracks—separately from the Jewish prisoners, whose numbers grew ever larger.—
Paul Hockenos,
Smithsonian Magazine,
8 May 2025
Adjective
-
Mingyang took the center of the Octagon from the beginning, landed hard leg kicks, and opened a nasty gash on Smith’s forehead with a step-in elbow.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
27 Apr. 2025
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That is exactly what the Giants need: nastier players on both sides of the ball.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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This dynamic has created a cruel catch-22 which forces an impossible choice: register and risk immediate deportation, or refuse and become criminalized for noncompliance, destroying any path to legal status.—
Kica Matos,
Time,
2 May 2025
-
Milano’s extensive medical history sometimes feels too cruel to detail; his only full season came as a rookie in 2017.—
Tim Graham,
New York Times,
2 May 2025
Adjective
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At the time, some of LeBron’s critics saw this as contemptible.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2025
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Civil-liberties organizations have defended neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan on the basis that, unless there is free speech for the most contemptible members of society, there cannot be free speech for all.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
The New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Rounding up immigrant children at school also runs the risk of deporting children who are citizens and separating children from their parents, a despicable enforcement practice or result that often happened during the first Trump administration.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 May 2025
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The fantasy, a timely rebuke to the despicable contempt of RFK Jr., is that neurodivergence makes you into a superhero.—
A.A. Dowd,
Rolling Stone,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Sandhagen dispatched Edgar with a vicious flying knee 28 seconds into that bout.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
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In its most memorable moment, Walker dispatches a particularly vicious henchwoman with a harpoon to the neck.—
Mike Miller,
EW.com,
26 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Detestable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detestable. Accessed 11 May. 2025.
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