detestable

«detestable» in Mova's school dictionary: Very hateful; so bad or nasty that people strongly… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adjective (detestable, more detestable, most detestable)

meaning for a pupil

1) Very hateful; so bad or nasty that people strongly dislike it. tree →

2) Of a person: behaving so cruelly or meanly that others cannot stand them. tree →

sense in the lessons

A strong, rather formal word for something you hate, stronger than «nasty» or «horrible». In stories it tells the reader that a character or deed is truly wicked, and that the speaker is very angry or disgusted. Often in «a detestable habit», «detestable behaviour», «a detestable man». In old children's books grown-ups and animals use it in proud, angry speeches.

examples

• Bullying younger children is a detestable thing to do. tree →
• The villain in the story was a detestable man who stole from the poor. tree →
• My brother has the detestable habit of reading my diary. tree →
• «What a detestable smell!» cried Aunt Mary as she opened the fridge. tree →
• Cheating in a test is detestable because it is unfair to everyone else. tree →
• The Queen thought the game was going detestably, and said so. tree →
• Leaving litter on the beach is a detestable way to treat nature. tree →
• "You are detestable!" exclaimed Babette, bursting into tears. tree →

note

Adjective; the adverb is «detestably», the verb is «detest» (to hate) and the noun «detestation». Stress on the second syllable: de-TEST-a-ble. It is a strong word; in everyday talk people more often say «horrible» or «awful». Do not confuse with «delectable», which means delicious.

In the corpora

• Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that is a detestable thing unto you.
• All winged swarming things that go upon all fours are a detestable thing unto you.
• But all winged swarming things, which have four feet, are a detestable thing unto you.
• And every swarming thing that swarmeth upon the earth is a detestable thing; it shall not be eaten.
• and ye have seen their detestable things, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were with them —

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «detestable» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.