Detestable

What does feeling detestable mean?

A feeling that something is so vile it deserves contempt. Stronger than dislike — it's active, forceful rejection of something's very existence.

Detestable is a awful emotion within the disgusted family of the Willcox/Junto Feelings Wheel. On the valence-arousal model, it is high-energy and unpleasant (valence: -0.8, arousal: 0.3).

When you might feel detestable

• ● You encounter hypocrisy or exploitation that angers you
• ● Something you once trusted reveals itself to be deeply corrupt

Journal prompts

Use these questions to reflect. There are no right answers.

1. 1. What specifically do you detest about this?
2. 2. How does this intensity serve you?
3. 3. What would bring resolution to this feeling?

Where detestable sits in the emotion family

In the Willcox/Junto Feelings Wheel, detestable is classified as a specific form of awful, which itself falls under the broader category of disgusted. This three-level hierarchy helps you move from a vague sense of feeling disgusted to naming the precise experience — detestable.

With a negative valence of -0.8, this is an unpleasant emotion — one that can feel difficult to sit with, but that carries important information about your needs and boundaries. Its high arousal (0.3) means it comes with noticeable physical energy — you might feel it in your body as alertness, tension, or activation.

Understanding where detestable sits helps distinguish it from its siblings under awful: nauseated. It also connects to emotions in other families — particularly nauseated, revolted, hostile.

Why naming detestable matters

Research in affective science suggests that the act of labelling an emotion — what psychologists call "affect labelling" — can reduce its intensity. When you move from "I feel disgusted" to "I feel detestable," you gain specificity, and that specificity creates a sense of understanding and agency.

Linden is designed to help you build this vocabulary over time. By logging detestable when you notice it, you create a personal record that reveals patterns — when this feeling tends to appear, what triggers it, and how it relates to the other emotions in your daily life.

Also under awful

Related emotions