How to Use detest in a Sentence

detest

verb
  • I detest pepperoni, and wouldn't eat it if you paid me!
  • Yes, guy-in-front-row may detest you.
    — Matt Fuchs, Time, 4 Nov. 2025
  • But if takeout was just like us, why did my father detest it so much?
    — Jenny Liao, Bon Appétit, 30 Mar. 2021
  • Deck detests the idea of changing crops or switching to livestock.
    — Autumn Schoolman, Indianapolis Star, 4 Feb. 2020
  • Many of you detest the extra-innings runner rule.
    — Stephen J. Nesbitt, New York Times, 13 May 2026
  • Many Nicaraguans loved him at some points in his career and detested him at others.
    — Stephen Kinzer, BostonGlobe.com, 4 June 2018
  • His colleagues in the Senate—on both sides of the aisle—detested him.
    — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 17 July 2023
  • But the change gives big banks, which have long detested the leverage ratio, a major win.
    — Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2020
  • Most of the people who detest Trump don't know anybody who works with him or supports him.
    — David Brooks | Opinion, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Jan. 2018
  • Take durian, the fleshy fruit with a notable and often detested smell.
    — Sachin Rawat, Big Think, 13 Jan. 2025
  • What’s beloved one day might be detested the next, and one kid’s favorite dish could make another gag.
    — Shannon Lin, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2023
  • Bob is the Dude-like stoner who detests the world's smarmy millionaires.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
  • Jill had a dry sense of humor, detested the feel of sand on her feet and adored her cat, Jackson.
    — courant.com, 4 Feb. 2018
  • Mami hates my mullet, truly detests it.
    — Joseph Trinidad, Longreads, 16 June 2026
  • And for a woman who detests groupthink, Owens revels in the power of a horde.
    — NBC News, 23 June 2018
  • There are those who detest your unique form of agitation and see it as some sort of corporate shake-down.
    — Byron McCauley, Cincinnati.com, 11 Apr. 2018
  • Jessica Jones just wants the fight to be over, takes no joy in it and detests every part of the act, even the build up.
    — Meredith Woerner, latimes.com, 26 May 2017
  • Kids and parents alike detest remote learning, but teachers aren’t fond of it, either.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Rabbits detest onions, so either planting onion bulbs or sprinkling cut onions around your beds is an easy way to repel them.
    — Kate McGregor, House Beautiful, 21 June 2023
  • Trump’s campaign that the Lincoln Project now appears to detest.
    — Sarah Midkiff, refinery29.com, 5 Aug. 2020
  • Over those couple of decades, the seats have slowly faded into a light pinkish color that fans have grown to detest.
    — Robert Rimpson, The Courier-Journal, 10 June 2019
  • Or maybe Piqué, who is known to detest tabloid rumors, wanted no part in this two month telenovela.
    — Luis Miguel Echegaray, SI.com, 24 July 2017
  • Garlic and Onion Unlike most humans, rats detest the smell of onions and garlic.
    — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Sep. 2024
  • People who want to keep secrets for one reason or another often detest leaks to the media.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2026
  • Garlic and Onion Unlike most humans, rats detest the smell of onions and garlic.
    — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Sep. 2025
  • Still, many fans detested playing the game as Abby, the person who kills their beloved Joel.
    — Eliana Dockterman, Time, 13 Apr. 2025
  • So many people of wealth and power have paid for and put up with so much architecture they (detest) as within our blessed borders.
    — Leah Garchik, San Francisco Chronicle, 20 May 2018
  • Everyone can find something in the Iran treaty proposal to detest.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 29 June 2026
  • Perhaps above all John detested the abuse of power, could not abide bigots and swaggering.
    — Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, 1 Sep. 2018
  • However, even though the horse-collar was legal at the time, head coach Bill Walsh detested it.
    — Eric Branch, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 Jan. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'detest.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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