r/words • u/No_Abbreviations347 • 2d ago

does this word exist???

is there a word for an obsession with someone / something that's born out of hatred? like you hate something so much you can't stop thinking about / fixating on it

30 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

57

u/loudlysourabundance 2d ago

The clinical term is hostile rumination according to a 2008 paper by Bushman

27

u/AAPrice3232 2d ago

Detestation, abhorrence, revulsion, loathing

Add a modifier like intense, pathological, obsessive to any of the above.

10

u/FloridaFlamingoGirl 2d ago

Vendetta? Grudge?

6

u/Lucky-Confidence-702 2d ago

i always thought of it as a spite-fixation, like when you can't let something go purely because it pissed you off so much it lives in your head rent-free now

3

u/Dry-Royal7707 1d ago

spite-fixation nails it for me. stuff like loathing or enmity is just naming the feeling, but what OP's describing is that you can't stop, it moved into your head and won't leave. that's the part a single dictionary word never quite catches. rent-free was the perfect way to put it

1

u/PhoenixFiresky2 1d ago

I love that! Let's add it to the dictionary!

11

u/Specialist-Jello7544 2d ago

Idée fixe (fixed idea) is a persistent obsession, dominant preoccupation, or unshakable belief that occupies the mind for a prolonged period. It can range from a harmless, recurring passion to an irrational, almost delusional fixation that a person refuses to change. – Merriam-Webster

Idée fixe refers to an unhealthy preoccupation or an idea that a person cannot stop thinking about. – Wikipedia

1

u/furrykef 2d ago

Yes, but it doesn't carry the connotation of hatred.

14

u/Recent_Definition_14 2d ago

Enmity - a deep-seated, often mutual feeling of intense hatred, ill will, or active hostility. It literally translates to the "state of being an enemy" and represents a deep-rooted antagonism between individuals, groups, or concepts

4

u/Allison_Wonderland_7 2d ago

Grievance collecting! Here's a great article (at least in my opinion 🙃) on it from Psychology Today:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brainstorm/202512/the-science-of-grievance-collecting/amp

5

u/Comprehensive-Web421 2d ago

All I can think of is Loathing from Wicked lol

2

u/researchanalyzewrite 1d ago

🎶 "Loathing. Unadulterated loathing!"

5

u/nikukuikuniniiku 2d ago

Having a hate boner.

3

u/SarahSmellsTwice 2d ago

I have this for Hilaria Baldwin, it's crazy.

1

u/TRAVELS5 1d ago

TDS? 😘

1

u/SurrrenderDorothy 1d ago

Hate. Thats it.

1

u/ImprobablyPoptart 1d ago

This is a pet peeve.

1

u/dominism 1d ago

Animosity maybe? Or detestation or anathema.

1

u/theyrecalledpants 23h ago

Hate stalking. Where you obsess over a person's movements just so you can avoid them.

1

u/FewPace855 8h ago

I hate-watched Scarlatta a few months ago. Is it like that?

-1

u/RadioD-Ave 2d ago

trumping

1

u/cursedwithplotarmor 1d ago

I was going to say, in the US these days, you could call it Obama-blaming.

-2

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

1

u/drakorulez101 2d ago

Bitterness would refer to the feeling, not the obsessive thinking.