execrable
adjective
ex·e·cra·ble ˈek-si-krə-bəl 
1
: deserving to be execrated : detestable
execrable crimes
2
: very bad : wretched
execrable hotel food
execrableness noun
execrably
ˈek-si-krə-blē
adverb 
Did you know?
He or she who is cursed faces execrable conditions. Keep this in mind to remember that execrable is a descendant of the Latin verb exsecrari, meaning "to put under a curse." Since its earliest uses in English, beginning in the 14th century, execrable has meant "deserving or fit to be execrated," the reference being to things so abominable as to be worthy of formal denouncement (such as "execrable crimes"). But in the 19th century we lightened it up a bit, and our "indescribably bad" sense has since been applied to everything from roads ("execrable London pavement" - Sir Walter Scott) to food ("The coffee in the station house was ... execrable." - Clarence Day) to, inevitably, the weather ("the execrable weather of the past fortnight" - The (London) Evening Standard).
Synonyms
- atrocious
- awful
- dismal
- horrible
- lousy
- punk
- rotten
- sucky [slang]
- terrible
- wretched
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Living conditions in the slums were execrable. her execrable singing finally brought a complaint from the neighbors
Recent Examples on the Web Maybe there is a hypothetical contingency for which F-35 isn’t fully ready in its baseline configuration, but after watching the execrable performance of Russian military forces in Ukraine for two months, this concern does not seem urgent. 
Loren Thompson, Forbes, 3 May 2022 Why hire this partisan, the White House acting chief of staff for a time, who had such an execrable record of enabling his boss’s corruption and reinforcing his lies? Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2022 Handing her an Oscar for the stunningly mediocre Eyes of Tammy Faye would be like giving Glenn Close her long-overdue Oscar for playing Ma Kettle, sorry, Mamaw, in the execrable Hillbilly Elegy. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Mar. 2022 My grandfather purchased it—along with a sweet fake Renoir and an execrable Modigliani—while living in Buenos Aires in the early Sixties. Claire Messud, Harper’s Magazine , 16 Feb. 2022 The first is the execrable former chancellor of Germany, Gerhard Schröder. Elliott Abrams, National Review, 15 Feb. 2022 And the aforementioned Land, Air & Sea, in which the fish and chicken patties of the Filet-O-Fish and the McChicken, respectively, were inserted into a Big Mac, was truly execrable. Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2022 Russia views itself as a great power and wants to deal with other great powers directly, not via the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an execrable reminder of Russian weakness and Soviet collapse. Seth Cropsey, WSJ, 4 Jan. 2022 Theoretically, the execrable Buccos offer the Reds a last, best chance at winning WC2, but since no contender seems very interested in winning anything, maybe losing two of three up there won’t make any difference. Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 14 Sep. 2021 See More
Loren Thompson, Forbes, 3 May 2022 Why hire this partisan, the White House acting chief of staff for a time, who had such an execrable record of enabling his boss’s corruption and reinforcing his lies? Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2022 Handing her an Oscar for the stunningly mediocre Eyes of Tammy Faye would be like giving Glenn Close her long-overdue Oscar for playing Ma Kettle, sorry, Mamaw, in the execrable Hillbilly Elegy. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Mar. 2022 My grandfather purchased it—along with a sweet fake Renoir and an execrable Modigliani—while living in Buenos Aires in the early Sixties. Claire Messud, Harper’s Magazine , 16 Feb. 2022 The first is the execrable former chancellor of Germany, Gerhard Schröder. Elliott Abrams, National Review, 15 Feb. 2022 And the aforementioned Land, Air & Sea, in which the fish and chicken patties of the Filet-O-Fish and the McChicken, respectively, were inserted into a Big Mac, was truly execrable. Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2022 Russia views itself as a great power and wants to deal with other great powers directly, not via the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an execrable reminder of Russian weakness and Soviet collapse. Seth Cropsey, WSJ, 4 Jan. 2022 Theoretically, the execrable Buccos offer the Reds a last, best chance at winning WC2, but since no contender seems very interested in winning anything, maybe losing two of three up there won’t make any difference. Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 14 Sep. 2021 See More Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
execrable
adjective
1
as in horrible
extremely unsatisfactory her execrable singing finally brought a complaint from the neighbors Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- horrible
- terrible
- awful
- wretched
- atrocious
- poor
- rotten
- dismal
- defective
- bad
- lousy
- sucky
- inadequate
- punk
- flawed
- insufficient
- substandard
- shameful
- contemptible
- lacking
- miserable
- abominable
- worthless
- inferior
- odious
- deficient
- reprehensible
- mediocre
- useless
- vile
- damnable
- faulty
- off
- wanting
- valueless
- fiendish
- second-rate
- bum
- low-grade
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- marvellous
- excellent
- great
- marvelous
- wonderful
- superior
- exceptional
- adequate
- prime
- first-rate
- sufficient
- choice
- acceptable
- bitchin'
- premium
- satisfactory
- first-class
2
as in terrible
of low quality another souvenir shop selling execrable knickknacks manufactured in some foreign sweatshop Synonyms & Similar Words
- terrible
- poor
- inferior
- cheap
- bad
- rotten
- wretched
- coarse
- shoddy
- mediocre
- rubbishy
- worthless
- common
- crappy
- useless
- lousy
- miserable
- trumpery
- schlock
- cheapjack
- trashy
- gimcrack
- sleazy
- cheesy
- junky
- schlocky
- low-rent
- shlocky
- bum
- shlock
- second-rate
- cut-rate
- counterfeit
- low-grade
- fake
- bargain-basement
- meretricious
- lackluster
- tawdry
- valueless
- indifferent
- gaudy
- el cheapo
- garish
- kitschy
- showy
- shabby
- kitsch
- ostentatious
- tacky
- swank
- glitzy
- flashy
- seedy
- splashy
- sham
- phony
- swanky
- second-class
- brummagem
- ultracheap
- phoney
- supercheap
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- excellent
- superior
- good
- fine
- first-rate
- elegant
- first-class
- top-notch
- tasteful
- handsome
- high-grade
- refined
- polished
- handcrafted
3
as in vile
not following or in accordance with standards of honor and decency a sordid murder case that was covered with execrable excess by the newspaper tabloids and cable news outlets Synonyms & Similar Words
- vile
- nasty
- detestable
- dirty
- contemptible
- immoral
- despicable
- wretched
- vicious
- cruel
- ignoble
- ignominious
- bad
- sordid
- corrupt
- dishonorable
- evil
- paltry
- snide
- base
- mean
- low-minded
- currish
- iniquitous
- foul
- wicked
- atrocious
- reprehensible
- low
- wrong
- low-down
- debased
- depraved
- censurable
- disgraceful
- miscreant
- perverted
- villainous
- blameworthy
- shameful
- blamable
- debauched
- degenerate
- unprincipled
- dissolute
- unworthy
- discreditable
- disreputable
- unscrupulous
- unethical
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- noble
- honorable
- venerable
- excellent
- virtuous
- high
- lofty
- good
- righteous
- exemplary
- upright
- scrupulous
- decent
- commendable
- proper
- honest
- straight
- respectable
- moral
- high-minded
- ethical
- just
- seemly
- right
- reputable
- blameless
- principled
- irreproachable
- right-minded
- guiltless
- unerring
- incorruptible
- uncorrupted