Execrable

(pronounced ek-si-kruh-bul) adjective

Definition

1. absolutely detestable; loathsome; abominable; deserving to be denounced or declared as abhorrent or hateful. 2. very bad; of very poor quality or ability; extremely inferior.

Main Example

Virginia Tech… Tucson… Aurora movie theater… It's become a pattern. Every year or two, we get to witness the massacre of innocent fellow Americans by someone who is mentally disturbed. How do other nations respond to such incidents? "Everyplace else, [such an occurrence] has led to some kind of control and restriction, which has prevented recurrences…..After a similar incident in Australia in 1996, a very conservative government there passed very restrictive gun legislation," says The Atlantic's James Fallows in an NPR interview. May we expect some basic, commonsense action from Washington D.C., such as reinstituting the assault weapon ban, so that mass murders will become less likely? Hardly! Alas, we Americans have the tragic misfortune of being blessed with a Congress that is spineless, cowardly, and execrable.

Workplace Examples

We could have easily avoided some of these execrable reviews of our new software that are being published in trade journals, if only we had listened to our Quality Assurance department and continued our beta testing a bit longer.
Oh, don't drink that coffee, Lynn. I just had a sip and it's awful. Execrable! Wait a few minutes and I'll make a fresh pot.

Other Examples

while discussing noted film directors, this author saying: "Speaking of Oliver Stone, there are several of his movies that I have liked immensely, but his 1991 'JFK' has to be filmmaking at its most execrable! That movie was full of seductive falsehoods and helped spread gross misinformation about President Kennedy's assassination."
execrable weather forcing you to cancel your weekend plans; the execrable housekeeping or the execrable food at a cheap hotel
thanks to an execrable performance, nearly half the audience leaving the concert hall during intermission and heading for the parking lot
a story involving an obsessed "tennis dad" in France that graced news headlines a few years ago: his execrable acts to ensure his son's victories included surreptitiously adding toxic substances to the opponents' water bottles
Few tales involving corrupt cops who have lost their moral compass are as execrable as the true story about two New York City police detectives who were convicted in 2006 of working as hit men for the Mafia during their years with the NYPD.