abomination

Abomination is a term used to describe something regarded with intense disgust, detestation, or as morally forbidden by a particular moral, religious, or legal code. In common usage it denotes acts, entities, or conditions deemed especially abhorrent or intolerable.

Etymology: The word comes from Latin abominatio, meaning “a thing detestable,” via Old French abomination and Middle English. The root ab- conveys a sense of away or apart, reinforcing the idea that the subject should be shunned.

Religious usage: In the Hebrew Bible, what is considered an abomination is often tied to ritual or moral uncleanliness, such as certain foods or practices deemed forbidden. In Christian scripture the term is used for idol worship, desecration, and related offenses, including the “abomination of desolation” imagery found in Daniel and echoed in the Gospel accounts. In Islam, forbidden acts are described as haram or makruh, with some translations rendering certain practices as morally abhorrent; the concept functions similarly to a religiously sanctioned category of repugnance.

Modern usage: Outside religious contexts, abomination is frequently employed rhetorically to condemn practices or institutions—genocide, corruption, oppression, or other grievous harms. In legal or policy language it is less common as a formal category, with judgments instead grounded in statutes and standards, though the term may appear in moral or political discourse.

In culture: The term appears in literature and media to label monsters or shocking acts, and has been used as a proper name or alias in fiction (for example, Marvel’s The Abomination, a character in the Hulk universe) as well as in speculative fiction to describe unfathomable horrors.

See also: detestation, taboo, heresy, blasphemy.