odious
adjective
odi·ous ˈō-dē-əs 
: arousing or deserving hatred or repugnance : hateful
an odious crime
a false and odious comparison
odiously adverb
odiousness noun
Did you know?
The Origin of Odious
Odious comes from Latin odiosus; that adjective is from the word for "hatred," odium. Odium is related to the English verb annoy, and it is used in English to mean "hatred" or "disgrace."
Synonyms
- abhorrent
- abominable
- appalling
- awful
- disgusting
- distasteful
- dreadful
- evil
- foul
- fulsome
- gross
- hideous
- horrendous
- horrible
- horrid
- loathsome
- nasty
- nauseating
- nauseous
- noisome
- noxious
- obnoxious
- obscene
- offensive
- rancid
- repellent
- repellant
- repugnant
- repulsive
- revolting
- scandalous
- shocking
- sickening
- ugly
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Two of them—his mother Livia and his odious sister Janice—were at heart killers like himself. 
Geoffrey O'Brien, New York Review of Books, 16 Aug. 2007 He learned an important lesson some years ago in Panama. Manuel Antonio Noriega was too odious even for Carter, who shunned the Panamanian strongman in the run-up to the 1989 ballot there. Jim Wooten, New York Times Magazine, 29 Jan 1995 But, alas, I know the real me, the me with the soft, round stomach and the love handles, odious first cousins to the paunch. Jack McCallum, Sports Illustrated, 30 July 1990 It was one of the most odious crimes of recent history. an odious and unforgivable insult
Geoffrey O'Brien, New York Review of Books, 16 Aug. 2007 He learned an important lesson some years ago in Panama. Manuel Antonio Noriega was too odious even for Carter, who shunned the Panamanian strongman in the run-up to the 1989 ballot there. Jim Wooten, New York Times Magazine, 29 Jan 1995 But, alas, I know the real me, the me with the soft, round stomach and the love handles, odious first cousins to the paunch. Jack McCallum, Sports Illustrated, 30 July 1990 It was one of the most odious crimes of recent history. an odious and unforgivable insult Recent Examples on the Web Despite the school’s odious intentions and an atmosphere that could feel prisonlike, Thorpe’s years at Carlisle were some of his happiest, according to Maraniss. Olive Fellows, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Aug. 2022 Participants started each day in front of a laptop, churning through a battery of odious cognitive tests. Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2022 Clinicians have duties of care to patients, even odious ones. New York Times, 7 June 2022 The response from the right has, thus, been to largely ignore the odious substance of the draft itself. Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 9 May 2022 The juxtaposition of the brothers’ murder with the history of the faith proved especially odious for Church leaders, who immediately criticized Krakauer’s work. Josh St. Clair, Men's Health, 29 Apr. 2022 Judged by the standards of American liberalism, many of Orbán's policies are odious, and his public rhetoric even worse. Damon Linker, The Week, 5 Apr. 2022 Of all the non-competitive nonsense of the last few years, the blatant tanking was not the most odious. Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2022 Now, some will say that Black Americans have been so traumatized by the odious uses of the word that the very sound of it causes distress. New York Times, 5 Apr. 2022 See More
Olive Fellows, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Aug. 2022 Participants started each day in front of a laptop, churning through a battery of odious cognitive tests. Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2022 Clinicians have duties of care to patients, even odious ones. New York Times, 7 June 2022 The response from the right has, thus, been to largely ignore the odious substance of the draft itself. Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 9 May 2022 The juxtaposition of the brothers’ murder with the history of the faith proved especially odious for Church leaders, who immediately criticized Krakauer’s work. Josh St. Clair, Men's Health, 29 Apr. 2022 Judged by the standards of American liberalism, many of Orbán's policies are odious, and his public rhetoric even worse. Damon Linker, The Week, 5 Apr. 2022 Of all the non-competitive nonsense of the last few years, the blatant tanking was not the most odious. Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2022 Now, some will say that Black Americans have been so traumatized by the odious uses of the word that the very sound of it causes distress. New York Times, 5 Apr. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin odiosus, from odium — see odium
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
odious
adjective
odi·ous ˈō-dē-əs
: causing hatred or strong dislike : worthy of hatred
odiously
adverb
as in vilely
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- vilely
- abominably
- unspeakably
- grossly
- insufficiently
- egregiously
- flagrantly
- miserably
- sleazily
- shabbily
- vulgarly
- shoddily
- intolerably
- reprehensibly
- stingily
- meagerly
- niggardly
- awfully
- dreadfully
- skimpily
- trashily
- deplorably
- horribly
- scantily
- indecently
- unbearably
- naughtily
- damnably
- atrociously
- inferiorly
- sparely
- inappropriately
- terribly
- unsuitably
- horrifically
- horrendously
- execrably
- detestably
- disastrously
- abysmally
- meanly
- poorly
- incorrectly
- rottenly
- inadequately
- bad
- unsatisfactorily
- deficiently
- wretchedly
- scantly
- lousily
- unacceptably
- badly
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- well
- tolerably
- acceptably
- suitably
- adequately
- satisfactorily
- fine
- passably
- appropriately
- nicely
- rightly
- good
- felicitously
- fittingly
- okay
- palatably
- seemly
- decently
- decorously
- correctly
- all right
- respectably
- precisely
- congruously
- faithfully
- gratifyingly
- meetly
- satisfyingly
- so-so
- exactly
- ideally
- OK