Hateful
/ˈheɪtfəl/
Definitions
Causing, expressing, or feeling intense dislike or aversion.
/ˈheɪtfəl/
Feeling, expressing, or causing hate.
The hateful words caused deep emotional distress.
💡 Simply: Imagine someone is really, really angry and doesn't like something or someone at all. If you call them hateful, it means that the person is super angry and expressing that strong dislike.
👶 For kids: When you feel or show a lot of anger and don't like someone or something.
More Examples
His hateful behavior was completely unacceptable.
The internet is sometimes filled with hateful comments.
How It's Used
"She made hateful comments about his appearance."
"Hateful speech is often a subject of legal restrictions."
"His hateful actions stemmed from a deep-seated insecurity."
Synonyms & Antonyms
Antonyms
Idioms & expressions
Hateful crime
A crime motivated by prejudice against a person's race, religion, sexual orientation, or other group identity.
"The attack was investigated as a hateful crime because of the victim's ethnicity."
From Middle English *hatful*, from Old English *hettful* ('full of hate'), equivalent to hate + -ful.
The word 'hateful' has existed since the Old English period, used to describe actions or feelings filled with hate. It has remained relatively stable in its core meaning through the centuries.
Memory tip
Think of someone full of hate; their face is 'hate-ful'.
Word Origin
"full of hate"