hor-, horr-

1. To shrink away from in fear, disgust, or hatred; to detest, to hate, to despise: Toby, the cat, abhors the sounds of fog horns because they hurt his ears.

Jeremy abhorred putting off the completion of the project.

2. To disapprove of or to reject something very strongly; to recoil from, or to shudder at: Kay's neighbor has always abhorred loud music because it causes him to have severe headaches.

The family abhors the very thought of having to move again.

Ariana abhorred the mosquitoes that were breeding in the rain barrel by her garage.

3. To loathe or to detest: Anyone devoted to democratic ideals must abhor the idea of making distinctions on the basis of religion or race.

Dr. Emmett abhors people who are habitually late for medical appointments.

4. Etymology: from Latin abhorrere, "to shrink back from, to have an aversion for, to shudder at"; from ab-. "away" + horrere, "to tremble at, to shudder"; literally, "to bristle, to be shaggy".

The Romans used the stronger term of abhor instead of milder forms of detestation (strong dislike or hatred), just as people do now in modern times.

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Detested, hated: Stephen refused to take part in the meeting with that abhorred guy who never took a bath.

The abhorred smell from the open sewer was offensive and finally caused the local government to make some public health improvements.

1. Someone or something that is strongly or intensely disapproved of: Gertrude had a strong abhorrence of mice running around in her basement during the winter, so she set a lot of traps to catch them.
2. That which is disgusting, loathsome, or repellent: The first mate on the ship had an abhorrence for the smell of the water in the bilge.

Mary has an abhorrence of monster movies.

3. A feeling of repugnance, revulsion, or loathing about someone or something: Tom's multiple abhorrences for reptiles and spiders will make it difficult for him to do much research when he goes to Africa next month.

Such violence during the TV movie is an abhorrence to Jeremy.

Some movies, even on TV, show too many abhorrences of beatings and killings of people!

1. Referring to something that arouses strong feelings of repugnance or disapproval about people, situations, or things: Even thinking about failing was an abhorrent idea for Scott to consider.

Ronald's sister had an abhorrent dislike of insects and other "creepy things" which helped to determine the direction of her scientific studies.

2. Pertaining to an occurrence that is incompatible with or conflicting with something: The abhorrent violence at the start of the film was so disgusting and loathsome that the couple got up and walked out.
3. Abominable, repugnant, or despicable: The man committed an abhorrent crime when he killed his wife.
4. Unacceptable or regarding a strong dislike: The thought of not being successful with his performance at the tennis match was abhorrent to the player.

The spelling of abhorrent shows that it is related to "horror". It means "feeling horror", when it is used with "of": Niki was so abhorrent of snakes that she would almost faint if she simply saw one.

When abhorrent is used with "to", it is expressed as: Crystal's casual disregard for the truth was abhorrent to her father's moral values.

When abhorrent means "creating horror, detestable", then it is written as: The sight of the abhorrent bleeding and injuries particularly upset Latricia when she saw those who were so terribly hurt in the car accident.

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Regarding how intense disapproval or dislike of something is regarded: There was something abhorrently unacceptable and vulgar about Elsie's behavior at the party last night.

The supervisor's abhorrently despicable behavior after work was in contrast to his normally mild demeanor while he was working, which made his fellow workers think of him as a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde character.

Someone who regards others, or certain things, with extreme repugnance: The prison guard was an abhorrer of those who attempted to escape.

Mark was an abhorrer of all things violent and harmful.

The two clergymen were abhorrers of the extreme poverty in which many of their congregational members lived.

1. Significantly unpleasant, frightening, or shocking so as to provoke trepidation: When the drivers were suddenly in the thick fog and smoke from the brush fires, they knew they were in a horrendous situation.
2. Very large, great, or high, often unreasonably or excessively so: The horrendous economic conditions around the world are causing all kinds of demonstrations against governments and businesses.
3. Hideous; appalling; shockingly dreadful: As a result of the hurricane, the horrendous destruction had torn the neighborhood apart. © ALL rights are reserved.
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A reference to that which is abominable or terrible: The actors were horrendously criticized for their atrocious performance.

Descriptive of hair bristling or standing up as on one's arms typically caused by a sudden jolt or a surprise: When Rodney and Jeff were riding home on the bus after school, the driver had to make a sudden swerve to avoid hitting a car that made a sudden stop in front of it, which caused a horrent reaction among everyone on the bus.

Mrs. Smith, the manager, made a discovery that caused a horrent reaction on her arms when she saw that the office computer had been stolen during the night.

Relating to an expression of or a showing of terror: The dreadful warning that a murderer had escaped caused a horrescent reaction by the nearby residents.

Slang for the potential of something to become terrible or very alarming: The horribility of traveling on the highway during the suddenly blinding snowstorm caused intense fears among the drivers.

1. Very bad, unpleasant, or unsightly: The accidents on the highway during the snowstorm were horrible sights.
2. Sufficiently frightening, distressing, or stupefying so as to provoke suffering: The flood caused the sewer to send out a horrible odor.
3. Unkind, rude, or ill-behaved: The horrible behavior of the drunk on the sidewalk resulted in his being arrested by the police.
4. Arousing or tending to arouse repulsive feelings: After the conviction of the accused murderers, the judge stated that it was difficult to conceive of a more despicable or a more horrible crime.

1. In a distressing, or repelling way: The horribly tasting food disgusted Mr. and Mrs. Brookes at the restaurant.
2. To a great or excessive extent: When the big cruise ship ran into the rocks offshore from the island, the passengers were horribly neglected by the captain and crew.

1. Exceedingly bad: Shirley said something more horrid to her father than he had ever heard before.
2. Grossly offensive to decency or morality: Mr. Jones, the radio reporter, presented some horrid reports about citizens being shot by the military during their peaceful demonstrations.
3. Provoking disgust or extreme displeasure: The rancid soup had a very horrid taste.

An action which takes place in a dreadfully, appallingly, unpleasantly, or in an unkindly manner: The police were accused of horridly mistreating the demonstrating students by pepper spraying them in the eyes.