Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hate

/heɪt/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: 5.11 in modern English

Syllables
hate
IPA
/heɪt/
7
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An object of hatred.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Hatred.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Negative feedback, abusive behaviour.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Bigotry.

Countable; Uncountable

verb

To dislike intensely or greatly.

Transitive verb

verb

To experience a feeling of hatred.

Intransitive verb

verb

Used in a phrasal verb: hate on.

Informal; Slang

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English haate, hat, hate (noun), probably from Old English hatian (“to hate”, verb) and/or Old Norse hatr (“hate”, noun). Merged with Middle English het, hete (“hate”), from Old English hete, from Proto-West Germanic *hati, from Proto-Germanic *hataz (“hate”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱeh₂d- (“angriness, hatred”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch haat (“hatred”), German Hass, Haß (“hate, hatred”), Luxembourgish Haass (“hate, hatred”), Vilamovian hās (“hate, hatred”), Yiddish האַס (has, “hatred”), Danish had (“hate, hatred”), Faroese and Icelandic hatur (“hatred, spite, aversion”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish hat (“hate, hatred”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐍄𐌹𐍃 (hatis, “hate, wrath”); also Breton and Cornish kas (“hatred”), Old Irish miscuis (“hatred”), Welsh cas (“hatred”), Oscan 𐌊𐌀𐌃𐌄𐌝𐌔 (kadeís, “enmity”), Ancient Greek κῆδος (kêdos, “care for others; troubles; mourning”), Sanskrit रि॒शाद॑स् (riśā́das, “benign or devouring or destroying enemies”). The verb is from Middle English haate, hate, haten, hatenn, hatien, hatiȝen, hatye, hatyn, heatien, from Old English hatian (“to hate, treat as an enemy”), from Proto-West Germanic *hatēn, from Proto-Germanic *hatāną (“to hate”), from Proto-Germanic *hataz, from the same root as above. Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian hoatje (“to hate”), West Frisian haatsje (“to hate”), Cimbrian haazan (“to hate”), Dutch haten (“to hate”), German hassen (“to hate”), Luxembourgish haassen (“to hate”), Yiddish האַסן (hasn, “to hate”), Danish hade (“to hate”), Icelandic, Faroese, and Swedish hata (“to hate”), Norwegian Bokmål hate (“to hate”), Norwegian Nynorsk hata, hate (“to hate”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐍄𐌰𐌽 (hatan, “to hate”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /heɪt/
  • British English: /heɪt/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Homonyms

Antonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce hate?
The recorded pronunciation is /heɪt/.
What does hate mean?
An object of hatred.
Where does hate come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce hate

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “hate”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/heɪt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “hate”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “hate” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.