Hate is a strong word.

I can remember my dad telling me that I wasn't supposed to use that word and that "You don't hate anything, you strongly dislike it."

The problem is that "strongly dislike" doesn't convey my feelings very well. I checked www.thesaurus.com for some 'hate' synonyms to see if any other word was as satisfying.


Main Entry: hate
Part of Speech: verb
Definition: dislike
Synonyms:
abhor, abominate, allergic to, anathematize, be loath, be reluctant, be sorry, can't stand, contemn, curse, deprecate, deride, despise, detest, disapprove, disdain, disfavor, dislike, disparage, down on, execrate, loathe, nauseate, object to, recoil from, scorn, shudder at, shun, spit upon, spurn

Source:
Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1)Copyright © 2006 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Let's look at that list. Abhor is agood one, I'll keep that one for now. Abominate? No, seems to "Hamptons" for me. Forget 'allergic to', I'm allergic to certain antibiotics, that doesn't mean I hate them.

Next is anathematize. Huh?

Be loath, be reluctant, be sorry. No. Loath is good, but only on it's own. I am neither reluctant or sorry for my feelings.

Hmm, can't stand is good, but it's 2 words. Technically 3.

Contemn, see anathematize.

Curse, I like. It still doesn't seem right though. I'm not an Eastern European grandmother putting the evil eye on anybody.

Deprecate means more like bad-mouthing to me. I can certainly deprecate the thing I hate, though.

Deride: To speak of or treat with contemptuous mirth. See Deprecate.

Despise, detest and disdain could be keepers.

Disapprove isn't good enough. I disapprove of my friends choice in boyfriends.

Disfavor? Disparage? Too uptight.

I'm not even going to comment on "down on".

Execrate is a little too nerdy. It sounds scientific.

My only problem with loathe is that there are no hard sounds in the word. Maybe if it were loate. Loathe is too soft, like I'm looking at something through a dirty window. I want something sharper.

Nauseate is a physical ailment.

Object to, recoil from, shudder at, spit upon. Two words.

Scorn, , shun, and spurn sound like I am trying to deter and overly eager suitor.

I'm afraid that in this case, at this moment in time, hate is the only word that perfectly conveys my feelings.