hatred

The word “hatred” means an intense, deep-seated dislike or hostility toward someone or something. In plain terms, a very strong, lasting dislike — stronger and more serious than ordinary dislike or annoyance.

“Hatred” is pronounced HAYT-rihd (/ˈheɪtɹɪd/ in IPA).

Here is “hatred” used in a sentence: “Years of conflict had bred a mutual hatred between the two families.”

“Hatred” is a noun.

The word “hatred” comes from Middle English. From Middle English haterede, built from hate plus an old suffix marking a state or condition — the same pattern seen in "kindred.".

“Hatred” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

As nouns they are close synonyms for intense dislike, but "hatred" sounds slightly more formal and is preferred for deep-seated, lasting hostility ("an old hatred between the families"). "Hate" is also a verb, which "hatred" never is, and "hate" appears in fixed compounds such as "hate mail."

All three are correct. "Hatred of" is the most common pattern ("a hatred of injustice"), "hatred for" often personalizes the feeling ("her hatred for her rival"), and "hatred toward" (or "towards") stresses the direction of the hostility. The meaning barely changes, so choose whichever reads most naturally.

Hatred is intense, deep-seated hostility toward someone or something, while contempt is the feeling that someone is worthless or beneath consideration. Contempt always looks downward, whereas you can hate an equal or something more powerful than yourself. The two can coexist, but contempt centers on disrespect rather than burning dislike.

Yes, much stronger. Dislike is mild aversion, while hatred sits at the extreme end of the same scale, meaning intense, deep-seated hostility. Words such as "distaste," "aversion," and "animosity" fall between the two, so careful writers save "hatred" for genuinely extreme feeling.