What does abhorrent mean?
Word: Abhorrent
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Abhorrent means causing strong hate or disgust because it is morally wrong, such as cheating or bullying.
Synonyms: disgusting, hateful, detestable, repugnant
Antonyms: admirable, pleasant, acceptable
Word origin: From Latin, from ab- 'away' and horrere 'to bristle' or 'to tremble', so 'to shrink back in horror'.
How do you spell abhorrent?
Syllables: ab - hor - rent
Tricky part: Two traps sit near the start: the h after ab, which students drop (aborrent), and the double r, which they write as one (abhorint).
Watch out for: aborrent, abhorint, aborent
Memory tip: Horror is hidden inside it: something abhorrent fills you with horror, and both words have the same h and the same double r.
Abhorrent in a sentence
Example 1: Wasting food while others go hungry is abhorrent to my grandmother.
Example 2: The idea of copying a friend's homework was abhorrent to Meera, so she asked the teacher for more time.
Example 3: Telling a lie to win the debate seemed abhorrent to Vikram, even though it would have been easy.
Fun Fact
The old saying nature abhors a vacuum, meaning that empty spaces tend to get filled, uses abhor, the verb that abhorrent comes from.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the given sentence?
The villagers found the dumping of factory waste in their river abhorrant and sent a petition to the district collector.
a) 2
b) 3
c) 0
d) 1
Show answer
d) 1. One word is wrong: the adjective ends in -ent, so it should read abhorrent.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with the correct options:
1. abhorrent 2. tranquil 3. meagre a. scanty b. odious c. peaceful
a) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
b) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
c) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
d) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
Show answer
d) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a. Something odious is hateful, a tranquil lake is peaceful, and a meagre meal is scanty.
Sound Check
In which word is 'or' pronounced differently?
a) forest
b) horrid
c) worry
d) abhorrent
Show answer
c) worry. In worry the or sounds like the u in hurry; in the others it is the short o of hot.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
rontbhare
a) very easy to break or damage
b) willing to wait calmly for a long time
c) deeply offensive to your sense of right
d) full of hope about the future
Show answer
c) deeply offensive to your sense of right. Unscrambled, the nine letters give abhorrent, a word for something that shocks your sense of right and wrong.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Someone who finds littering abhorrent would most likely ___.
a) drop a wrapper when no one looks
b) carry wrappers home to a bin
c) leave bottles on the beach
d) ignore the rubbish in the park
Show answer
b) carry wrappers home to a bin
2. Abhorrent is a much stronger word than ___.
a) repugnant
b) detestable
c) unpleasant
d) appalling
Show answer
c) unpleasant
