---
title: detestable — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «detestable» in the school dictionary: Very hateful; so bad or nasty that people strongly dislike it. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# detestable

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** people, others, Bullying, villain, detestable man, brother · **What happens:** dislike, behave, not stand, bully, be, do · **To what, where:** it, them, younger children, detestable thing, detestable man, poor · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«detestable» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [detestable in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/detestable.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Very hateful; so bad or nasty that people strongly dislike it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detestable:m1:1
# text = Very hateful; so bad or nasty that people strongly dislike it.
1	Very	very	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	hateful	hateful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
4	so	so	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	conj	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	nasty	nasty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	conj	_	_
8	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
9	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nsubj	_	_
10	strongly	strongly	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	dislike	dislike	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	advcl	_	_
12	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dislike** | present | people | it |  |  |  | strongly *property* | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer it=Stimulus |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Of a person: behaving so cruelly or meanly that others cannot stand them.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detestable:m2:1
# text = Of a person: behaving so cruelly or meanly that others cannot stand them.
1	Of	of	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	3	punct	_	_
5	behaving	behave	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	cruelly	cruelly	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	meanly	meanly	ADV	RB	_	7	conj	_	_
10	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
11	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	nsubj	_	_
12	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	14	advmod	_	_
14	stand	stand	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	_
15	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **behave** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | of a person; cruelly *property* | vn masquerade-29.6-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **not** **stand** | can | others | them *= they* |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer they=Stimulus |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Bullying younger children is a detestable thing to do.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detestable:x1:1
# text = Bullying younger children is a detestable thing to do.
1	Bullying	bully	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	csubj	_	_
2	younger	young	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	3	amod	_	_
3	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	detestable	detestable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bully** | gerund |  |  | younger children |  |  |  | vn captain-29.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent child=Beneficiary |
| 2 | **is a** | present | Bullying | a detestable thing |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **do** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The villain in the story was a detestable man who stole from the poor.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detestable:x2:1
# text = The villain in the story was a detestable man who stole from the poor.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	villain	villain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	detestable	detestable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
10	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
11	stole	steal	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	acl:relcl	_	_
12	from	from	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	poor	poor	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | the villain in the story | a detestable man |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **steal** | past | a detestable man |  |  | the poor |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My brother has the detestable habit of reading my diary.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detestable:x3:1
# text = My brother has the detestable habit of reading my diary.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	detestable	detestable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	habit	habit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
8	reading	read	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	acl	_	_
9	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	diary	diary	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | My brother | the detestable habit |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent habit=Patient |
| 2 | **read** | gerund | the detestable habit *not said here* | my diary |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent diary=Topic |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«What a detestable smell!» cried Aunt Mary as she opened the fridge.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detestable:x4:1
# text = «What a detestable smell!» cried Aunt Mary as she opened the fridge.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	What	what	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	5	det:predet	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	detestable	detestable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	smell	smell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
8	cried	cry	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	Aunt	Aunt	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	Mary	Mary	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
12	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
13	opened	open	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	advcl	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	fridge	fridge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cry** *speech: express* | past | what detestable smell | Aunt Mary |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent mary=Topic |
| 2 | **open** | past | smell | the fridge |  |  |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location fridge=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Cheating in a test is detestable because it is unfair to everyone else.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detestable:x5:1
# text = Cheating in a test is detestable because it is unfair to everyone else.
1	Cheating	cheat	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	csubj	_	_
2	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	test	test	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	detestable	detestable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
7	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	unfair	unfair	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	ccomp	_	_
11	to	to	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	everyone	everyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	10	obl	_	_
13	else	else	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cheat** | gerund |  |  |  | a test |  |  | vn cheat-10.6.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | Cheating |  |  |  |  | detestable *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | present | test |  |  |  |  | to everyone; unfair *property* | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Queen thought the game was going detestably, and said so.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detestable:x6:1
# text = The Queen thought the game was going detestably, and said so.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Queen	Queen	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	thought	think	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
6	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	going	go	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	ccomp	_	_
8	detestably	detestably	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
12	so	so	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **think** *speech: other* | past | the Queen |  |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **go** | past · progressive | the game |  |  |  |  | detestably *property* | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | the Queen *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Leaving litter on the beach is a detestable way to treat nature.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detestable:x7:1
# text = Leaving litter on the beach is a detestable way to treat nature.
1	Leaving	leave	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	9	csubj	_	_
2	litter	litter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	beach	beach	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	detestable	detestable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	treat	treat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	acl	_	_
12	nature	nature	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **leave** | gerund |  | litter |  | the beach |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent litter=Theme on beach=Location |
| 2 | **is a** | present | Leaving | a detestable way |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **treat** | to-infinitive |  | nature |  |  |  |  | vn equip-13.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent nature=Recipient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"You are detestable!" exclaimed Babette, bursting into tears.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detestable:x8:1
# text = "You are detestable!" exclaimed Babette, bursting into tears.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	You	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	detestable	detestable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
7	exclaimed	exclaim	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	Babette	Babette	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	bursting	burst	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	7	advcl	_	_
11	into	into	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	tears	tear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | present | You |  |  |  |  | detestable *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **exclaim** *speech: express* | past | Babette |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1 «NP V S-Quote»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **burst** | gerund | Babette *not said here* |  |  | tears |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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