hate

hateverb

American /heɪt/ British /heɪt/ Hate rhymes with late and eight.

third-person singular hates past tense hated past participle hated present participle hating

very commondefining vocabulary

dislikedislike someone or something very much
transitive [T] verb + object [V + obj] verb + -ing form [V + -ing] verb + to-infinitive [V + to-inf] verb + object + -ing form [V + obj + -ing]
- I hate cold weather. V + obj
- The two brothers hated each other. V + obj
- She hates being late. V + -ing
- I hate to see good food wasted. V + to-inf
Collocations
adverb + verb really hate, absolutely hate
verb + noun hate the idea, hate each other
phrase hate it when
Synonyms detest; loathe
Antonyms love; like; enjoy
Compare dislike
be sorrybe sorry that you must do or say something
Used in I hate to... before something that the listener may not like, to make it more polite.
transitive [T] verb + to-infinitive [V + to-inf]
- I hate to interrupt, but we have to leave now. V + to-inf
- I hate to say it, but I think you're wrong. V + to-inf
Collocations
phrase I hate to say it, I hate to interrupt, I hate to ask

Word family

hate
hatred
hateful

Choosing between hate · dislike · detest

Dislike is the mildest of the three: I dislike long meetings. Hate is strong and is the usual word in everyday speech: I hate long meetings! Detest is even stronger and more formal: She detested her boss.

Usage

Hate is usually used in the simple tenses: I hate this weather. In informal speech the continuous is sometimes used for a feeling about something that is happening now: I'm hating every minute of this trip.

For translators

Meaning across languages In everyday English "hate" is often used lightly, for small things: I hate waiting. It does not always mean a strong feeling against a person.