hateful

adjective

hate·​ful ˈhāt-fəl How to pronounce hateful (audio)
1
: full of hate : malicious
2
: deserving of or arousing hate
hatefully adverb
hatefulness noun

Examples of hateful in a Sentence

the girl's classmates were bullying her online, sending her hateful e-mails and text messages
Recent Examples on the Web Indeed, the former education minister has more reason than most to be wary of hateful remarks online. Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 21 Mar. 2024 That sentiment would be echoed in the hateful and rude treatment, Winfrey said, that has followed her throughout her career. Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2024 The dispute began in July when X filed suit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit that tracks hate speech on social platforms and had warned that the platform was seeing an increase in hateful content. Vittoria Elliott, WIRED, 1 Mar. 2024 Certainly, there is no endorsement of hateful ideology. Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024 The university’s Hispanic Student Association and Latinos Invested in the Students of Tomorrow addressed the hateful comments in a joint statement and called for unity on campus. Kaitlyn Schwanemann, CNN, 2 Mar. 2024 Broken Trust After taking over Twitter in late 2022, Musk fired much of the company's trust and safety team, which kept hateful and dangerous content as well as disinformation off the platform. Vittoria Elliott, WIRED, 1 Mar. 2024 The Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism has documented over 160 hateful public forum disruptions since publishing its report on Aug. 21, 2023. Jeff A. Chamer, Charlotte Observer, 1 Mar. 2024 The question is whether states like Florida and Texas can force big social media platforms to carry content the platforms find hateful or objectionable. Carrie Johnson, NPR, 26 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hateful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from hate hate entry 1 + -ful -ful entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hateful was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near hateful

Cite this Entry

“Hateful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hateful. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hateful

adjective
hate·​ful ˈhāt-fəl How to pronounce hateful (audio)
1
: full of hate : malicious
hateful enemies
2
: causing or deserving hate
a hateful crime
hatefully adverb
hatefulness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on hateful

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