hateful

hateful — adjective

1. so unpleasant or cruel that it makes you feel strong dislike or anger toward it.

1.形容詞B2
釋義

so unpleasant or cruel that it makes you feel strong dislike or anger toward it.

例句

The hotel room was small and dirty — a truly hateful experience for the guests.

collocation: hateful experience

Ravi found the hateful comments on his post upsetting for days.

collocation: hateful comments

同義詞
  • horrible

    stronger on causing fear or shock; more general in use

  • nasty

    more informal, implies a mean or spiteful edge

  • awful

    more general and slightly weaker; used for everyday complaints

反義詞
  • pleasant

    the direct opposite in terms of experience or quality

  • lovely

    warmer and more positive, often for personal experiences

文法句型

hateful + noun

be + hateful

be + hateful + to/towards + noun

用法筆記

Commonly describes remarks, behaviour, experiences, or situations. Stronger than unpleasant — implies an emotional or moral reaction, not just a matter of taste.

常見錯誤

❌She made a hateful mistake on the test.
✅She made a terrible mistake on the test.
💡hateful describes things that feel offensive or cruel, not simple errors.
❌I feel hateful about missing the bus.
✅I feel awful about missing the bus.
💡hateful describes what something IS, not how you feel about it.

2. driven by strong hatred, shown through cruel or spiteful behaviour toward others

2.形容詞B2
釋義

driven by strong hatred, shown through cruel or spiteful behaviour toward others.

例句

The old woman's hateful glare made the children hide behind their mother.

collocation: hateful glare/stare

Nadia could not understand why her neighbour sent such a hateful letter.

同義詞
  • malicious

    similar strength, more precisely about intending harm

  • spiteful

    more about petty, small-scale meanness

  • vindictive

    focused on revenge or payback

反義詞
  • kind

    the direct opposite in disposition and behaviour

  • loving

    warmer, implies genuine affection

文法句型

hateful + noun

be + hateful

be + hateful + to/towards + noun

用法筆記

Describes a person’s inner disposition rather than an external quality. Frequently paired with nouns like stare, letter, attitude, words to show hostility through specific behaviour.

常見錯誤

❌He looked at me hateful.
✅He gave me a hateful look.
💡hateful is an adjective, not an adverb; use hatefully for the adverbial form.
❌The food tasted hateful.
✅The food tasted terrible.
💡sense 2 describes a person’s hostile disposition, not the flavour of something.

3. deserving to be hated because of a fundamentally evil or deeply wrong nature.

3.形容詞C1
釋義

deserving to be hated because of a fundamentally evil or deeply wrong nature.

例句

The general's hateful orders caused great suffering among the villagers.

Spreading false rumours about a classmate is a hateful and cowardly act.

collocation: hateful act

同義詞
  • despicable

    focuses on being contemptible and worthy of scorn

  • abhorrent

    more formal, suggests strong moral disgust

  • loathsome

    emphasises causing physical or emotional revulsion

反義詞

文法句型

hateful + noun

be + hateful

consider + noun + hateful

用法筆記

This sense carries a moral judgement — the speaker is saying that something deserves hatred, not just that it causes unpleasant feelings. Unlike sense 1, it is not used for minor annoyances or personal dislikes. Common in formal writing about ethics, politics, or serious wrongdoing.

常見錯誤

❌I found the movie hateful because it was boring.
✅I found the movie boring.
💡this sense requires a moral reason, not personal taste.
❌His hateful behaviour at the party' (when meaning he was rude).
✅Use sense 1 for rudeness; sense 3 is for actions that truly deserve hatred, like cruelty or betrayal.