LOATHSOME Synonyms: 128 Similar and Opposite Words

loathsome

adjective

ˈlōth-səm

Definition of loathsome

as in disgusting

causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment we traced the foul smell to a pile of loathsome garbage by the back wall

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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 loathsome Assayas’s aesthetic is too genteel to even imagine the specifics of loathsome doctrines. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 13 May 2026 Helping the audience understand loathsome people without understanding them is a more subtle, if equally essential, inheritance. — Alison Herman, Variety, 12 Apr. 2026 Most of Becket’s relatives are loathsome (Grace is funny as a fraudulent self-help quasi-religious guru), though his uncle (the great Bill Camp) is a decent fellow who wants to lend Becket a hand. — Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 18 Feb. 2026 In the show’s first episode, Jaquel Spivey, who starred in the Broadway production of A Strange Loop, a musical about the experience of being a self-hating fat gay Black man, is introduced as a loathsome incel. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for loathsome

Recent Examples of Synonyms for loathsome

Adjective

Comparing the administration's fight to protect women and women's spaces from males to rape, is utterly disgusting and actually devalues those atrocities and crimes against actual women.

— Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
The squad has not been beefed up at all after a shameful and disgusting transfer window.

— Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of disgusting

Adjective

Mahomes scrambled to his left and threw an awful interception in the opening half.

— Sam McDowell October 25, Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2026
Their wins this year have been against a Patriots team that looked awful in Week 1 – with Drew Lock coming in for Darnold early in the game.

— David Troy OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of awful

Adjective

In most versions of the Greek mythology, Medusa is a beautiful woman that was cursed by the goddess Athena with a head of snakes instead of hair and the horrible ability to turn people to stone with just one look.

— Lynsey Eidell, Glamour, 26 Oct. 2026
The battle is between that horrible atmosphere and some of the horrific candidates that have been nominated by the Democratic Party.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of horrible

Adjective

Its pristine, almost peaceful harps make the song sound somehow pleasantly sickening.

— Clover Hope, Pitchfork, 25 Oct. 2026
Ole Miss scored two more touchdowns, and whatever momentum Texas had was replaced by that familiar sickening feeling.

— Mac Engel October 25, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of sickening

Adjective

Alabama has been busily demonstrating that the reverse is true, following a string of hideous botched lethal injection executions with a series of no less gruesome executions with nitrogen suffocation.

— Maya Foa, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
But then comes the ad, a full-screen photo of a hideous brown leather recliner.

— Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, The Verge, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of hideous

Adjective

As Claudia, Curtis is perfectly biting and obnoxious, willing to insert herself into her ex-husband’s life for sport, stomping on his feeble boundaries.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026
The nudity is also more gratuitous and the counselors more obnoxious.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of obnoxious

Adjective

In Russia, soldiers die at the front by the hundreds of thousands while politically compliant billionaires accumulate obscene fortunes.

— Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
At the next timeout, an announcement was made asking fans to refrain from obscene chants.

— Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of obscene

Browse Nearby Words

loathings

loathsome

loathsomeness

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Loathsome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loathsome. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of loathsome

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

grotesque

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes