hateful

1 of 2

adjective

hate·​ful ˈhāt-fəl How to pronounce hateful (audio)
Synonyms of hatefulnext
1
: full of hate : malicious
2
: deserving of or arousing hate
hatefully
ˈhāt-fə-lē How to pronounce hateful (audio)
adverb
hatefulness noun

hatefulness

2 of 2

noun

hate·​ful·​ness
plural -es
: the quality or state of being hateful

Synonyms of hateful

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Adjective

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Examples of hateful in a Sentence

Adjective the girl's classmates were bullying her online, sending her hateful e-mails and text messages
Recent Examples on the Web
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Adjective
Manchester police say over the weekend, vandals wreaked havoc leaving several hateful, antisemitic, racist and homophobic slurs on people's property. — Paul Burton, CBS News, 19 Oct. 2026 Ossoff went a step further, accusing Collins himself of amplifying hateful content and saying that his former congressional aide had intervened on behalf of a Holocaust denier. — AJC.com, 9 Oct. 2026 Online trolls posting hateful comments on social media don't establish how the crowd at Gainbridge behaves. — Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026 In her final interview of the season, Clark denounced the hateful messages Mitchell says she's received on social media and urged the soon-to-be free agent to stay with the Indiana Fever for one more season. — ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hateful

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from hate hate entry 1 + -ful -ful entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hateful was in the 14th century

Rhymes for hateful

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Browse Nearby Words

hate crime
hateful
hatefully
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hateful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hateful. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

hateful

adjective
hate·​ful ˈhāt-fəl How to pronounce hateful (audio)
1
: full of hate : malicious
hateful enemies
2
: causing or deserving hate
a hateful crime
hatefully
-fə-lē How to pronounce hateful (audio)
adverb
hatefulness noun
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