odium means hatred; dislike.
odium is pronounced /ˈəʊ.di.əm/.
Why “odium” is a great word
General or widespread hatred or intense dislike, often accompanied by public condemnation or disgrace. From the Latin odium ('hatred, ill-will'), from the verb odisse ('to hate'), from Proto-Italic *odjom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- ('to hate'); first attested in English c. 1600. Unlike animosity, which suggests a deep, personal hostility, or aversion, which implies an instinctive recoil, odium is the heat of a public, moral verdict. It is the hissed name in a crowded square, the shredded portrait hung from a lamppost, the sudden silence that falls when a disgraced figure enters a room—a condemnation so complete it feels less an emotion than a climate.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin odium, from Proto-Italic *odjom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed-.
noun
- Hatred; dislike.e.g.“His conduct brought him into odium, or, brought odium upon him.”
- The quality that provokes hatred; offensiveness.e.g.“She threw the odium of the fact on me.” — 1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act V, page 82:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- loathing 62% match — Sense of revulsion, distaste, detestation, extreme hatred or dislike. vs odium →
- animosity 62% match — Violent hatred leading to active opposition; active enmity; energetic dislike. vs odium →
- loathe 61% match — To detest, hate, or revile (someone or something). vs odium →
- detestation 61% match — Hate coupled with disgust; abhorrence. vs odium →
- odious 59% match — Arousing or meriting strong dislike, aversion, or intense displeasure. vs odium →
- abhorrence 59% match — Extreme aversion or detestation; the feeling of utter dislike or loathing; a visceral revulsion toward something repugnant. vs odium →
- hathos 58% match — Enjoyment derived from hatred of a person or thing. vs odium →
- hatedness 56% match — The quality of being hated. vs odium →