abominable
a·bom·i·na·ble/əˈbɑm.ə.nə.bl̩/adjective
abominable is spelled A-B-O-M-I-N-A-B-L-E: 10 letters and 5 syllables (a·bom·i·na·ble). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,912th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, abominable means “Worthy of, or causing, abhorrence, as a thing of evil omen; odious in the utmost degree; very hateful; detestable; loathsome; execrable” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in abominable?
| Letters | 10: A-B-O-M-I-N-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5: a·bom·i·na·ble |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,912th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is abominable?
Abominable appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,912th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce abominable?
- US /əˈbɑm.ə.nə.bl̩/
- US /əˈbɑm.nə.bl̩/
- /ɘˈbɔm.ɘ.nɘ.bɯ/
Abominable has 5 syllables, split a·bom·i·na·ble in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-abominable.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of abominable
- more abominable comparative
- most abominable superlative
- abhominable
- abhominal
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does abominable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Worthy of, or causing, abhorrence, as a thing of evil omen; odious in the utmost degree; very hateful; detestable; loathsome; execrable.
abominable crime
- 2
obsoleteExcessive, large (used as an intensifier).
- 3
Very bad or inferior.
- 4
Disagreeable or unpleasant.
abominable weather
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Abominable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | abominable |
| German | verabscheuungswürdig, verhasst, abscheulich , riesig, monströs |
| Portuguese | abominável, execrável , enorme , terrível, péssimo |
| Spanish | abominable, aborrecible |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does abominable come from?
From Middle English abhomynable, from Old French abominable, from Late Latin abōminābilis (“deserving abhorrence”), from abōminor (“abhor, deprecate as an ill omen”), from ab (“from, away from”) + ōminor (“forebode, predict, presage”), from ōmen (“sign, token, omen”). Formerly erroneously folk-etymologized as deriving from Latin ab- + homo, literally "away from humankind," and therefore spelled abhominable, abhominal (Hence, Shakespeare puns on this when Hamlet speaks of incompetent actors that "imitate humanity abominably.")
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).