detestable
de·test·able/dɪˈtɛstəbl̩/adjective
detestable is spelled D-E-T-E-S-T-A-B-L-E: 10 letters and 3 syllables (de·test·able). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 54,808th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, detestable means “Stimulating disgust or detestation; offensive; shocking” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in detestable?
| Letters | 10: D-E-T-E-S-T-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: de·test·able |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 54,808th 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 detestable?
Detestable appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 54,808th 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 detestable?
- /dɪˈtɛstəbl̩/
Detestable has 3 syllables, split de·test·able in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-detestable.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of detestable
- more detestable comparative
- most detestable superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does detestable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Stimulating disgust or detestation; offensive; shocking.
detestable person
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Detestable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense stimulating disgust or detestation:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | detestável |
| Spanish | detestable |
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 detestable come from?
From Middle French détestable. By surface analysis, detest + -able.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).