ex·e·crate (ĕk'sĭ-krāt')
tr.v., -crat·ed, -crat·ing, -crates.

1. To declare to be hateful or abhorrent; denounce.
2. To feel loathing for; abhor.
3. Archaic. To invoke a curse on.

[Latin execrārī, execrāt- : ex-, ex- + sacrāre, to consecrate (from sacer, sacred).]

execrative ex'e·cra'tive or ex'e·cra·to'ry (-krə-tôr'ē, -tōr'ē) adj.
execrator ex'e·cra'tor n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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