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Abhorrent vs Egregious - What's the difference?

abhorrent | egregious |

As adjectives the difference between abhorrent and egregious

is that abhorrent is (archaic) inconsistent with; far removed from; strongly opposed to, as, abhorrent thoughts while egregious is exceptional, conspicuous, outstanding, most usually in a negative fashion.

abhorrent

English

(Webster 1913)

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • (archaic) Inconsistent with; far removed from; strongly opposed to, as, abhorrent thoughts.
  • *
  • Contrary to; discordant.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1827, author=, title=The History of the Decline And Fall of the Roman Empire
  • , passage=This legal, and, as it should seem, injudicious profanation, so abhorrent to out stricter principles, was received with a very faint murmur, ... , url=http://books.google.com/books?id=rwoMAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Injudicious%20profanation%2C%20so%20abhorrent%20to%20our%20stricter%20principles.%22&pg=PA82
  • v=onepage&f=false}}
  • *
  • Abhorring; detesting; having or showing abhorrence; loathing.
  • Detestable or repugnant.
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Usage notes

    * Nouns to which abhorrent is often applied: behavior, act, crime, practice, thing. * (opposed) abhorrent'' is typically folled by ''from . * (contrary) abhorrent'' is followed by ''to .

    References

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    egregious

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Exceptional, conspicuous, outstanding, most usually in a negative fashion.
  • The student has made egregious errors on the examination.
  • * 16thC , ,
  • I cannot cross my arms, or sigh "Ah me," / "Ah me forlorn!" egregious foppery! / I cannot buss thy fill, play with thy hair, / Swearing by Jove, "Thou art most debonnaire!"
  • * c1605 , , Act 2, Scene 3,
  • My lord, you give me most egregious indignity.
  • * 22 March 2012 , Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Games [http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-hunger-games,71293/]
  • When the goal is simply to be as faithful as possible to the material—as if a movie were a marriage, and a rights contract the vow—the best result is a skillful abridgment, one that hits all the important marks without losing anything egregious .
  • * '>citation
  • Outrageously bad; shocking.
  • Usage notes

    The negative meaning arose in the late 16th century, probably originating in sarcasm. Before that, it meant outstanding in a good way. Webster also gives “distinguished” as an archaic form, and notes that its present form often has an unpleasant connotation (e.g., "an egregious error" ). It generally precedes such epithets as “rogue,” “rascal,” "ass," “blunderer”.