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
Remember Paul Reiser's detestable Carter Burke in Aliens?
—
Randall Colburn, EW.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Top-notch casting is the cherry on top, with Lily James as the supremely likable Cinderella, Richard Madden as her down-to-earth prince, Cate Blanchett as the detestable stepmother with her own imperfect backstory, and Helena Bonham Carter as one lovably flighty fairy godmother.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2025
Can’t wait for the Stanley Cup window to close on Team Tank, easily the most detestable team in the League.
—Daniel Nugent-Bowman, The Athletic, 15 Mar. 2025
Overall, the film has gotten a mixed reception, and Strong’s character is pretty detestable.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for detestable
Randall Colburn, EW.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Top-notch casting is the cherry on top, with Lily James as the supremely likable Cinderella, Richard Madden as her down-to-earth prince, Cate Blanchett as the detestable stepmother with her own imperfect backstory, and Helena Bonham Carter as one lovably flighty fairy godmother.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2025
Can’t wait for the Stanley Cup window to close on Team Tank, easily the most detestable team in the League.
—Daniel Nugent-Bowman, The Athletic, 15 Mar. 2025
Overall, the film has gotten a mixed reception, and Strong’s character is pretty detestable.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for detestable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detestable
Adjective
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Arriving in London, Jess has a chance encounter with Felix (Will Sharpe), a broke musician, in a particularly vile pub toilet.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
17 July 2025
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The tweets, a vile departure from Elmo’s often inspiring and motivational social media cadence, were sent on July 13 and promptly taken down.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
14 July 2025
Adjective
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Basically, how others will judge you for moving on, if you’ll be seen as incompetent or immoral for quitting.—
Vicki Salemi,
Boston Herald,
20 July 2025
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With his opaque history and sources of wealth, his super-powerful friends and his immoral appetites, Epstein became the perfect avatar for our at-home Hollywood heroism.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
19 July 2025
Adjective
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Another is to use one of the brand's sprays and spritz the dirty surface, wipe it down, then rinse with water.—
Maria Sabella,
Better Homes & Gardens,
31 July 2025
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That version of Boldy — the skilled scorer not afraid to go to the dirty areas — had superstar qualities and scored some big-time goals.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
31 July 2025
Adjective
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Unfortunately, later in the day, arguments about controversial issues like politics and religion could get nasty.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
31 July 2025
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After dropping Monday’s opener to the Twins – following a nasty delay between the top and bottom of the ninth – the Red Sox got right back on the horse.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
31 July 2025
Adjective
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In an inordinately cowardly and cruel act, Rubio stayed away from the department that day, ignoring the men and women whose careers and life plans were decimated by his flippant decision-making.—
Lynn Northcutt Vega,
Sun Sentinel,
29 July 2025
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A little more than a year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a decision from the Ninth Circuit that determined a ban on people sleeping in public was constitutionally cruel and unusual.—
Natalie Eilbert,
jsonline.com,
29 July 2025
Adjective
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The death of Pope Francis, sadly, has not escaped the attention of these truly contemptible criminals.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
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At the time, some of LeBron’s critics saw this as contemptible.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The deliberate misrepresentation of his record by Moore is truly despicable.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
9 July 2025
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As Bertram, Gabriel Brown played well the spoiled and despicable cad.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 July 2025
Adjective
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Over time, this can create a vicious cycle where poor sleep and chronic anxiety feed into each other, creating a loop that damages your well-being.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
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There was a scary moment later in the third quarter when Charlotte’s James Banks III hit Sacramento’s Dylan Cardwell with a vicious elbow to the face.—
Jason Anderson,
Sacbee.com,
21 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Detestable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detestable. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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