Loathsome
/ˈloʊθsəm/noun
Arousing intense dislike or disgust.
Did you know?Loathsome is built on the same Old English root as *loathe*, and in older usage it carried the feeling of something not just disliked, but almost spiritually repellent.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leudh-
“to grow, increase; hence to be pleasing or desirable in some descendants”
Old English
OE
lāð
“hateful, hostile, loathsome”
Middle English
ME
lothsom
“hateful, offensive, causing aversion”
Modern English
English
loathsome
“arousing intense dislike or disgust”