HATEFUL Synonyms: 88 Similar and Opposite Words

hateful

adjective

ˈhāt-fəl

Definition of hateful

as in malicious

having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it the girl's classmates were bullying her online, sending her hateful e-mails and text messages

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of hateful 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 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 The apology was met with a lukewarm reaction from a public that had watched the rapper’s troubling antics and hateful statements for years. — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2026 But others, including civil rights attorney Connie Rice, say the latest scandal proves that the LAPD’s problems run deeper than the hateful actions of a few individuals. — Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hateful

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hateful

Adjective

The malicious system component silently installs apps that look like weather tools, app lockers and other everyday utilities.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
The Federal Bureau of Investigation also warned that malicious actors could exploit the vulnerabilities to execute code remotely, putting sensitive data and networks at risk.

— Jenny Lee, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of malicious

Adjective

The vicious cycle of the current model, of course, is that to become marketable a team needs to get and retain good players, and to do that a school has to spend money, which cycles the whole thing back to the start.

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
Governments were expected to rescue struggling banks, which held large amounts of sovereign debt, creating a vicious cycle.

— Jenni Reid,Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of vicious

Adjective

Participants fell into their roles a little too well and, after a prisoner rebellion, increasingly cruel forms of punishment from the guards and a number of students suffering mental breakdowns, the experiment was ended on the sixth day.

— Marlow Stern, Variety, 25 Oct. 2026
But these townswomen — whether the undersexed Bakerwoman (Ella Bruccoleri ) or the prim, cruel busybody the Tailor’s Wife (a deliciously scheming Elizabeth Debicki) — are deeply unhappy with their own lot in life.

— Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of cruel

Adjective

With American Family Field rocking, Ashby reared back and threw a nasty curve that Díaz tried to hold up on.

— Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
Of course, there has been some criticism of this plan, as France is experiencing some pretty nasty civil unrest at the moment, but the game will go ahead, with the Saints having been in the country for a few days already.

— Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of nasty

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hated

hateful

hatefully

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“Hateful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hateful. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of hateful

adjective

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