hateful

adjective

ˈhāt-fəl How to pronounce hateful (audio)
Definition of hatefulnext
as in malicious
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it the girl's classmates were bullying her online, sending her hateful e-mails and text messages

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hateful Played by a perpetually blank Ella Beatty, the daughter of Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, Lizzie is the belittled and abused daughter of a disinterested father, Andrew (Charlie Hunnam), and hateful step-mother, Abby (Rebecca Hall). — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Sep. 2026 Still, the administrators, the commissioners and league presidents must recognize that if trade wars devolve into something more hateful and restrictive, team owners may find their golden goose has fallen into the crockpot. — Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 18 Sep. 2026 Mary Petchlikoff, 69, of Dearborn, recalls mobilizing on 9/11 to help protect Muslim students who were starting to receive some hateful harassment. — Niraj Warikoo, Freep.com, 12 Sep. 2026 Some critics predicted Mohammed would use a trial as a platform to spread hateful views of America and its allies. — ABC News, 11 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hateful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hateful
  1. malicious
  2. vicious
  3. cruel
  4. nasty
Adjective
  • Once installed, the malicious app pushes you to enable Android's Accessibility service.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Companies should detect prompt injection, malicious or compromised tools, behavioral anomalies, data exfiltration and other threats.
    — Shashwat Sehgal, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of malicious
Adjective
  • Experts are voicing concerns over the vicious cycle of rising debt and higher yields.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Verity dwells almost entirely in the gulf between the front-facing celeb being interviewed by Alex Cooper and the vicious private thoughts of her confession.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of vicious
Adjective
  • The policy of sending them to a third country has been condemned as harsh and cruel.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Eight men were killed via gassing until an Alabama district judge ruled the execution method unconstitutionally cruel, in June; the Supreme Court has maintained the block.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of cruel
Adjective
  • The New York Yankees were still reeling from a nasty gut punch — a 1-0 loss to the rival Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the best-of-five American League Division Series at Tropicana Field on Saturday night.
    — Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Frank Senior was a barber who dreamed of being a singer, a nasty cur who beat his two sons and verbally whittled them down to a nub.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of nasty

Browse Nearby Words

hated
hateful
hatefully
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Cite this Entry

“Hateful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hateful. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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