All 3 Uses of
loathe
in
The Scarlet Letter
- In all her miserable experience, there was nothing else so awful and so loathsome as this sense.†
p. 81.1 *loathsome = disgusting or very bad
- And yet, by the constitution of his nature, he loved the truth, and loathed the lie, as few men ever did.†
p. 134.1loathed = detested or intensely disliked
- Therefore, above all things else, he loathed his miserable self!†
p. 134.1
Definition:
hate, detest, or intensely dislike
Word Confusion: Do not confuse loathe with loath which sounds very similar or the same. Loathe is a verb while loath is an adjective describing "reluctance or unwillingness to do something." Note that loathing and loathsome are forms of the verb loathe even though both word forms lack the "e". Occasionally, you will see loath spelled as loathe even in a published book, but it is rare enough that it is generally considered an error rather than a non-standard spelling.