détestiez

The word "détestiez" is the second-person plural imperfect indicative form of the French verb "détester." This verb translates to "to hate" in English. Therefore, "détestiez" signifies a past state of hating something or someone by a group of people addressed as "you" (plural).

The imperfect tense in French is used to describe ongoing actions, habitual actions, or states of being in the past. When someone says "vous détestiez," they are referring to a situation where the group being addressed harbored feelings of hatred over a period of time, or as a description of a past condition. It implies a continuous or repeated feeling rather than a sudden, one-time event.

For example, a sentence like "Vous détestiez le brocoli quand vous étiez enfants" (You hated broccoli when you were children) uses "détestiez" to describe a long-standing dislike. In contrast, the passé composé form, "vous avez détesté" (you hated), would typically refer to a specific instance or a completed action in the past. The nuance of "détestiez" lies in its depiction of a past reality that was ongoing or descriptive.