When I recently asked fellow writers for their repetitive-word nemeses, I was surprised to find hate on the list. However, a Google search for hate produces billions of results.

Orson Welles expressed an opinion about hate: “I hate television. I hate it as much as peanuts. But I can’t stop eating peanuts.”

And then there’s the perspective of Steve Martin: “I like a woman with a head on her shoulders. I hate necks.”

Witty observations. But if your WIP seems anything but witty because it’s overrun by hate, read on for ways to squelch it.

See also [bad] [because] [just] [that] [very]

Emotion Beats and Physical Manifestations

If you have room in your WIP, try showing instead of telling by revealing characters’ hate with emotional responses.

• avoiding eye contact
• baring one’s teeth
• orienting feet and torso away from the object of one’s hate
• clenching one’s jaw
• compressing one’s lips
• touching one’s nose
• crossing one’s arms and/or legs
• repeatedly checking one’s watch or phone
• flaring one’s nostrils
• forcing a smile or laugh
• forcing eye contact
• increasing one’s physical distance
• ignoring the object of one’s hate
• leaning away
• poking tongue into one’s cheek
• making fists of one’s hands
• touching the hollow at the base of one’s neck
• pressing one’s lips together
• narrowing one’s eyes
• folding one’s arms
• tensing one’s forearm muscles
• going red in the face
• cursing
• refusing to shake hands or to hug another character (could also be a side effect of germophobia or safety measures)
• constricting pupils — an involuntary response that would require close quarters for a character to notice.

For more options, consult a body language dictionary. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Other Ways to Show Hate

Scrutinize the following paragraphs. Do you recognize the dislike or hate in each one?

Narrative

Stephanie, who was the only server on the diner’s early shift, spit in Donald’s coffee every time she prepared it. He never seemed to notice, so today she upped the ante and poured his café au lait into a dirty mug previously used by a sniffling customer with a cough. Wouldn’t it be karma for Donald if the runny-nosed customer had something serious?

Walter picked up the cat by the scruff of the neck and held it as far from his body as his short arms could reach. He couldn’t bring himself to wring its neck, but he could certainly throw it outside with the rest of its mangy kin.

The wallpaper in the living room reeked of cigarette smoke and mold. And the carpet — who in their right mind would ever install a wall-to-wall leopard-print shag? To say nothing of the gaudy family room and rusty plumbing. Really? Time to switch realtors.

Dialogue

Conversation often provides the most direct route to convey character emotion:

“How many times have I asked you not to play country-and-western music while I’m driving? Turn it off. Now!”

“Look, miss, I asked for the pasta without mushrooms. Take it back to the kitchen.”

“Why did we have to move to Alaska? It’s too freakin’ cold. Why couldn’t you find a job in California or Arizona?”

“A date with that loser? You gotta be kidding. He gives me the creeps.”

Adjectives

Instead of hateful consider these adjectives. Exercise caution with multiple descriptors, though. Stacked modifiers exasperate readers.

A to M
abhorrent, abominable, abysmal, appalling, atrocious, awful, beastly, contemptible, dastardly, deplorable, despicable, detestable, disgraceful, disgusting, distasteful, dreadful, foul, heinous, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, ignoble, ill-natured, iniquitous, insufferable, intolerable, loathsome, low, malevolent, malicious, malignant, monstrous

N to W
nasty, nauseating, obnoxious, odious, offensive, putrid, rancorous, repellant, reprehensible, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, rotten, scandalous, sickening, stomach-turning, terrible, unacceptable, unbearable, unpalatable, unspeakable, venomous, vile, villainous, wicked

Similes and Metaphors

Like overused words, too many similes and metaphors attract attention — and not in a good way. However, an inventive turn of phrase often withstands the test of time to become so popular that future generations label it as cliché.

Maybe you can find seeds in these phrases to create your own innovative expressions that become the clichés of tomorrow.

a furnace burning in one’s craw

a paroxysm coursing through one’s veins

an all-consuming fire

an incipient pathogen

electric animosity

filling one’s throat with bitterness

inescapable as death

like a malignant tumor

malevolence personified

one’s constant companion

poisonous passion

sinister as the snake in the garden of Eden

soul slayer

Colors

Red often symbolizes hate. However red also represents a number of other emotions, including the opposite of hate: love.

Rather than rely on the symbolism of color, leverage it to produce conflict. For example, create a protagonist who hates green, and introduce a character who deliberately wears green clothing or paints a room green.

Scents

Scents provide another way to add conflict. Try one or more of the following.

B to S
body odor, burnt _____, Camembert cheese, chickens, cigarette smoke, coffee, garbage, gardenias, garlic, Gruyere cheese, hay, limburger cheese, meat, Roquefort cheese, roses, stinky socks

Shapes and Symbols

Everyone recognizes the swastika. Unfortunately, extremists and supremacists have created so many hate emblems that I could fill pages with them. Search Google for symbols of hate to see what I mean. If you need a symbol for your writing, choose something familiar or create one that suits your world.

The Versatility of Verbs and Phrasal Verbs

Rather than hate, a character might:

Intense Emotion

A to V
abhor, castigate, contemn [dated], despise, detest, harass, intimidate, loathe, reject, scorn, shun, spurn, vilify

Less Intense Emotion

B to S
beat down, beat up, belittle, berate, denigrate, deride, disdain, dislike, glare at, grimace, insult, mock, pick apart, rebuke, reproach, sneer at

Nouns

Hate can range from mild dislike to abject loathing. If you need a replacement noun, consider one of these.

Intense Emotion

A to V
abhorrence, animosity, antipathy, contempt, detestation, disgust, dudgeon, loathing, malevolence, malignance, rancor, revulsion, venom, vitriol

Less Intense Emotion

A to R
acrimony, animus, antagonism, aversion, bitterness, dislike, disrelish, distaste, enmity, hostility, ill feeling, ill will, malice, odium, repugnance, resentment

Props

Props aren’t only for plays and movies. They add dimension to prose and poetry as well. Could one of these augment your WIP?

B to M
boss or supervisor, bully, cat or dog that digs up _____, dating app glitch, divorce lawyer, ex-[boss, boyfriend, girlfriend, landlord, lover, spouse], false rumors, impolite salesclerk, intimidating texts, lost luggage, missing mail or parcel, mother-in-law

N to T
neighbor’s car alarm that goes off repeatedly during the night, news anchor, no-contact or restraining order, one-star book review, politician, rapist, rude delivery person, serial killer, social media meme, stepchild, stepparent, tailgater, tattoo(s) of a terrorist group or hate movement, termination of employment

Clichés and Idioms

Sometimes repetitions in a WIP are the result of clichés or idioms such as these. Replace them if appropriate, remembering that dialogue doesn’t always follow the rules.

I hate to break it to you but: I’m sorry but

I hate to eat and run: I have an appointment; I’m running late

love-hate relationship: ambivalence, conflicted feelings

to hate like sin: denounce, eschew, revile, scorn

to hate on someone/something: attack, censure, deprecate, execrate, ridicule

to hate someone’s guts: abhor, despise, detest, loathe