忌いまわしい

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ま

わ

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い

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

忌まわしい · i-adjective

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	忌いまわしい	忌いまわしくない
Polite	忌いまわしいです	忌いまわしくないですalso 忌いまわしくありません
Past polite	忌いまわしかったです	忌いまわしくなかったですalso 忌いまわしくありませんでした
Past	忌いまわしかった	忌いまわしくなかった
Te-form	忌いまわしくて	忌いまわしくなくて
Adverbial	忌いまわしく
Conditional	忌いまわしければ	忌いまわしくなければ
Tara conditional	忌いまわしかったら	忌いまわしくなかったら

Meanings

i-adjective

abhorrent; detestable; repugnant

Expresses strong moral or emotional revulsion toward an act, event, or memory. Often used for things that feel deeply wrong or unforgivable.

彼かれの犯おかした罪つみは忌いまわしいものだった。
The crime he committed was abhorrent.
忌いまわしい記き憶おくを思おもい出だしたくない。
I don't want to recall those detestable memories.

i-adjective

ominous; inauspicious; unlucky

rare term

Rare, somewhat old-fashioned use for something that feels ill-omened or foreboding. Modern speakers more often use 不吉な or 縁起の悪い.

忌いまわしい夢ゆめを見みて、朝あさから気き分ぶんが沈しずんだ。
I had an ominous dream and felt down from the morning.

See all 13 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

忌いまわしい〈事こと〉an abhorrent event or memory one cannot forget
彼かの女じょは忌いまわしい事じ件けんを今いまでも覚おぼえている。
She still remembers the horrific incident.
忌いまわしい予よ感かんがするto have an ominous feeling or premonition
その夜よる、彼かの女じょは忌いまわしい予よ感かんがして眠ねむれなかった。
That night, she had such an ominous feeling that she couldn't sleep.
忌いまわしい過か去こを持もつto have a dark, shameful past
彼かれは忌いまわしい過か去こを持もつ男おとこだった。
He was a man with a dark, shameful past.

Kanji

忌mourning, abhor, detestable

Related words

おぞましい sense 1
おぞましい stresses a visceral, almost physical disgust or horror, while 忌まわしい leans more toward moral condemnation of a past act or memory.
不ふ吉きつN1sense 2
不吉 is the common modern word for 'ominous' or 'unlucky'; 忌まわしい in this sense is rare and carries a stronger emotional charge of abhorrence.
疎うとましい sense 1
疎ましい describes a feeling of wanting to keep something or someone at a distance out of dislike, whereas 忌まわしい expresses a stronger sense of moral revulsion or taboo.
憎にくいN3sense 1
憎い focuses on personal hatred or resentment toward a person or action, while 忌まわしい emphasizes a more abstract, moral revulsion or sense of taboo.
汚けがらわしいN1
忌まわしい describes something detestable or ominous that one wants to avoid, while 汚らわしい focuses on a visceral sense of filth or defilement.

Opposites

喜よろこばしいN1sense 1
喜ばしい describes something joyous or gratifying, the opposite of the revulsion expressed by 忌まわしい.

Don't confuse with

望のぞましいN2
望ましい (desirable, preferable) shares the -ましい adjective form with 忌まわしい but has an almost opposite, positive meaning, so learners can mix them up at a glance.

Written forms

忌いまわしいUsage68%
Standard kanji spelling; the kanji 忌 carries a sense of taboo or abhorrence.
いまわしいUsage32%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the kanji is not needed.

Etymology

Derived from the verb 忌む (imu, 'to avoid as taboo, to detest') with the adjectival suffix わしい, which often adds a sense of strong emotional quality. The kanji 忌 is associated with taboo and abhorrence.