Hating

How to spell hating

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce hating

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does hating mean?

1. verbFeeling or showing intense dislike or hostility toward someone or something.

Hating in a sentence

• She spent the whole flight hating the cramped seats.

• He could not stop hating the long winter commute.

Where does hating come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is the present participle and gerund of the verb 'hate', which descends from the Old English verb hatian, meaning 'to regard with active dislike or hostility'. That verb sat alongside the noun hete, and both go back to a Germanic root shared with Old Norse hata and Old High German hazzon, all carrying the sense of strong enmity. When the suffix -ing is added to 'hate', the final silent e is dropped before the vowel, which is the spelling trap here: the form is 'hating', not 'hateing'. The same e-dropping rule governs relatives such as 'loving', 'making', and 'caring'. The intensity of the word has stayed remarkably stable across more than a thousand years, though modern internet usage has revived 'hating' as a label for persistent, envious criticism.

How the word is built

• hat- (from Old English hatian, to hate; the silent e of 'hate' is dropped)
• -ing (present participle/gerund suffix)