different between outrageous vs execrable

English

Alternative forms

• outragious (archaic)

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman outrageus, Middle French outrageus, from outrage; equivalent to outrage +? -ous.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /a?t??e?d??s/
• Rhymes: -e?d??s

Adjective

outrageous (comparative more outrageous, superlative most outrageous)

1. Violating morality or decency; provoking indignation or affront. [from 14th c.]
   • c. 1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, First Folio 1623:

     To be, or not to be, that is the Question: / Whether 'tis Nobler in the minde to suffer / The Slings and Arrowes of outragious Fortune, / Or to take Armes against a Sea of troubles, / And by opposing end them [...].

   • 2011, Paul Wilson, The Guardian, 19 Oct 2011:

     The Irish-French rugby union whistler Alain Rolland was roundly condemned for his outrageous decision that lifting a player into the air then turning him over so he falls on his head or neck amounted to dangerous play.

2. Transgressing reasonable limits; extravagant, immoderate. [from 14th c.]
   • 2004, David Smith, The Observer, 19 Dec 2004:

     Audience members praised McKellen, best known for Shakespearean roles and as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, for his show-stealing turn as Twankey in a series of outrageous glitzy dresses.

3. Shocking; exceeding conventional behaviour; provocative. [from 18th c.]
   • 2001, Imogen Tilden, The Guardian, 8 Dec 2001:

     "It's something I really am quite nervous about," he admits, before adding, with relish: "You have to be a bit outrageous and challenging sometimes."

4. (now rare) Fierce, violent. [from 14th c.]
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.4:

     For els my feeble vessell, crazd and crackt / Through thy strong buffets and outrageous blowes, / Cannot endure, but needes it must be wrackt [...].

Derived terms

• outrageously
• outrageousness

Related terms

• outrage

Translations

Further reading

• outrageous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• outrageous in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

English

Etymology

From Old French execrable, from Latin execrabilis.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /??ks?k??bl/, /??ks?k??bl/, /??ksk??bl/

Adjective

execrable (comparative more execrable, superlative most execrable)

1. Of the poorest quality.
2. Hateful.
   • 1779, Jefferson, letter to Patrick Henry written on March 27

     But is an enemy so execrable, that, though in captivity, his wishes and comforts are to be disregarded and even crossed? I think not. It is for the benefit of mankind to mitigate the horrors of war as much as possible.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "execrable" is often applied: taste, road, crime, murder, thing.

Synonyms

Related terms

• execrableness
• execrably
• execration
• execrate

Translations

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin execr?bilis.

Adjective

execrable (plural execrables)

1. execrable