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
This all came on the heels of a family tragedy that made my job seem even more detestable and stupid.
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Lachlan Cartwright, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
And many could withhold their votes in November, returning the White House key to the detestable Donald Trump.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024
In telling its parable about the problems of wealth concentration so well, Succession was hilarious yet horrifying, small yet large, and relatable yet detestable.
—Ars Staff, Ars Technica, 29 Dec. 2023
If the Russian soldiers were sometimes alarmingly young, the Donbas militiamen looked much too old and out of shape to be at war, and while the Russians were at first cordial, the militiamen made a point of being detestable.
—James Verini Paolo Pellegrin, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2023
See all Example Sentences for detestable 
Lachlan Cartwright, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
And many could withhold their votes in November, returning the White House key to the detestable Donald Trump.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024
In telling its parable about the problems of wealth concentration so well, Succession was hilarious yet horrifying, small yet large, and relatable yet detestable.
—Ars Staff, Ars Technica, 29 Dec. 2023
If the Russian soldiers were sometimes alarmingly young, the Donbas militiamen looked much too old and out of shape to be at war, and while the Russians were at first cordial, the militiamen made a point of being detestable.
—James Verini Paolo Pellegrin, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2023
See all Example Sentences for detestable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detestable
Adjective
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The dancing on the death of somebody was pretty vile.Miranda Kennedy, Vox, 10 Dec. 2024
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The hour sits with him as his anxiety builds, causing some to sympathize with him despite his typical vile behavior.EW Staff, EW.com, 5 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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That level of greed and inequality is not only immoral.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 1 Dec. 2024
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Regulated sportsbooks find gambling on minors immoral in some respects, but you guys don’t.Jay Ginsbach, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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From savory breads and rolls for sandwiches and soup-sopping to decadent sweet loaves and rolls for breakfast or dessert, the easy recipes give you a break while your mixer does the dirty work.Josh Miller, Southern Living, 21 Dec. 2024
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The Romans liked to give the appearance of civilized rule by getting local thugs to do their dirty work.N.T. Wright, TIME, 20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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At its simplest, while tracking cookies are a nasty underpin to the internet, they can be seen and controlled, whether by those website popups or electing to use some form of private browsing that blocks such cookies altogether.Zak Doffman, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
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But the only bacteria raw or pasteurized milk contain are the nasty kind—salmonella, campylobacter and the like, according to the FDA.Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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By the time Lovely Runner’s series finale dropped in late May, millions of K-drama fans around the world had become invested in the story of Sol and Sun-jae, desperate to find out if their love could withstand the cruel vagaries of fate.Kayti Burt, TIME, 18 Dec. 2024
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The gods prove cruel but not omnipotent, and the modern settings exert their own redemptive pull; the final effect is that of a magic trick, in which the characters manage, in each film’s miraculous closing moments, to slip the bonds of tragedy.Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Fiona Shaw is so perfectly contemptible throughout those scenes on the sailboat, rendering Angelica so completely self-absorbed and so cruel, that her likely death feels like an immediate relief.Caroline Framke, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2024
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Most Europeans find Donald Trump alien and contemptible and a man unsuited for the U.S. presidency.David Goodart, Foreign Affairs, 15 Aug. 2017
Adjective
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Mangione allegedly took a human life, which is despicable.Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 13 Dec. 2024
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And now, a woman has lost her life because of this despicable act.Calvin Milliner, ABC News, 11 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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But the blaze was the latest manifestation of a vicious cycle in which flammable invasive grasses are choking out fire-resistant vegetation in the Santa Monica Mountains.Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2024
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The vicious gang has taken advantage of a lax southern border under the Biden-Harris administration, with many of its foot soldiers swarming the U.S. and unleashing hell on unsuspecting communities.Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 20 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near detestable
Cite this Entry
“Detestable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detestable. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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