detest

== English == === Etymology === From Middle French detester (French détester), from Latin dētestor (“to imprecate evil while calling the gods to witness", "denounce", "hate intensely”), from dē- + testor (“to testify, bear witness”), from testis (“a witness”); see test, testify. Doublet of detestate. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /dɪˈtɛst/ Rhymes: -ɛst Hyphenation: de‧test === Verb === detest (third-person singular simple present detests, present participle detesting, simple past and past participle detested) (transitive) To dislike (someone or something) intensely; to loathe. (transitive, obsolete) To witness against; to denounce; to condemn. ==== Usage notes ==== This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing). See Appendix:English catenative verbs ==== Synonyms ==== See also Thesaurus:hate ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== detestable detestation ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== abhor despise disdain dislike hate loathe ==== Further reading ==== “detest”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “detest”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. === Anagrams === dettes, setted, tested