Abominable means so bad, unpleasant, or wrong that it fills people with disgust or horror. When something is abominable, it's shockingly, outrageously awful in a way that makes people recoil.

The weather might be abominable during a blizzard that traps you inside for days. A cafeteria meal could be so terrible that students call it abominable. More seriously, people describe cruel or evil actions as abominable because they violate basic human decency.

When you call something abominable, you're expressing that it's so bad it's almost offensive, provoking strong negative feelings beyond simple dislike.

You might know the word from the Abominable Snowman, a legendary creature said to live in the Himalayan mountains. The name suggests something frightening and monstrous, though most researchers now doubt the creature exists. The word abominable carries that same sense of something so awful it seems almost unnatural.