loath
English · Thesaurus
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loath¹
- /ləʊθ/ UK
- /loʊθ/ US
Rhymes with -əʊθ
Where it comes from
From Middle English lōth (“loath; averse, hateful”), from Old English lāð, lāþ (“evil; loathsome”), or Old Norse leið, leiðr (“uncomfortable; tired”) from Proto-Germanic *laiþaz (“loath; hostile; sad, sorry”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂leyt- (“to do something abhorrent or hateful”).
The word is cognate with Danish led (“disgusting, loathsome; nasty”), Dutch leed (“sad; (Belgium) angry”), French laid (“ugly; morally corrupt”), Catalan lleig (“ugly”), Icelandic leiður (“annoyed, vexed; sad; (archaic or poetic) annoying, wearisome”), Italian laido (“filthy, foul; obscene”), Old Frisian leed, Old High German leid (Middle High German leit, modern German leid (“uncomfortable”), Leid (“grief, sorrow, woe; affliction, suffering; harm, injury; wrong”)), Old Saxon lêð, lēth (“evil person or thing”), Swedish led (“bored; tired; (archaic) disgusting, loathsome; evil”).
adjective loather · loathest · loth · loathed · loathe
- Averse, disinclined; reluctant, unwilling. Always followed by a verbal phrase. I was loath to return to the office without the Henderson file.
- Angry, hostile.
- Loathsome, unpleasant.
Similar: averse, disinclined, reluctant, unwilling · Opposite: antonym(s) of
loath²
- /ləʊθ/ UK
- /loʊθ/ US
Rhymes with -əʊθ
verb loaths · loathing · loathed
- Obsolete spelling of loathe To Scriptures read they muſt their leaſure frame, / Then loath they will both luſt and wanton love; […]
Thesaurus
adjective
Similar: averse, disinclined, reluctant, unwilling · Opposite: antonym(s) of
Translations
Every language
adj averse, disinclined; reluctant, unwilling — see also averse, reluctant
| Español | poco dispuesto, reticente |
|---|---|
| Português | relutante, hesitante, reticente |
| Français | hésitant, réticent |
| Deutsch | abgeneigt |
| Italiano | restio, riluttante, ritroso |
| Română | reticent, ezitant |
| Русский | неохотный neoxotnyj, нежелающий neželajuščij |
Talk about this word "loath." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/loath. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. loath. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/loath "loath." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/loath.Cite this
@misc{loath_2026,
title = {loath},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/loath},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
