2 syllables: ha, ted. Stress on ha.
HAY-tuhd
/ˈheɪtəd/
hated is pronounced HAY-tuhd (/ˈheɪtəd/). It has two syllables (ha-ted), with the stress on "ha". Hated is the past tense of hate, meaning to intensely dislike something or someone. Used to describe a strong negative feeling directed at a person, idea, or action, often implying lasting or habitual hostility. In everyday speech it can express retrospective judgment or an emotional response that occurred in the past.
Hated is the past tense of hate, meaning to intensely dislike something or someone. Used to describe a strong negative feeling directed at a person, idea, or action, often implying lasting or habitual hostility. In everyday speech it can express retrospective judgment or an emotional response that occurred in the past.
"I hated spinach as a child, but now I’ll eat it if it’s prepared well."
"They hated the idea of moving, yet they adapted over time."
"She hated being late and learned to plan better."
Pronounce as HEY-tid with primary stress on HEY. IPA: US/UK/AU /ˈheɪtɪd/. Begin with /h/ breath, then /eɪ/ as in
Common errors: shortening the first syllable to a lax /hæt/ as in 'hat' and overemphasizing the /t/ giving a heavy pause between syllables. Correct by maintaining an /eɪ/ diphthong in the first syllable and a quick, soft /tɪd/ cluster. IPA guidance helps: /ˈheɪtɪd/ with /t/ not as a strong stop in isolation, but as a light tap in connected speech.
US/UK/AU share /ˈheɪtɪd/ but rhoticity affects surrounding words; in non-rhotic accents you may hear colorized vowels before r-less contexts. Vowel quality in /eɪ/ can be more fronter in US, slightly closer in UK. Australians may have a slightly higher tongue position on the /eɪ/ and more compact final syllable, but the /t/ remains non-aspirated in rapid speech.
The difficulty lies in the diphthong /eɪ/ and the rapid transition to /tɪd/ in connected speech; many learners misplace the tongue for /eɪ/ and over-emphasize the /t/, creating a staccato “hate-ted” instead of a smooth HEɪ-tɪd. Focus on the quick, light /t/ before the reduced /ɪd/. IPA helps you place the jaw and lips for a natural glide.
A distinctive feature is the consonant cluster transition from the long /eɪ/ vowel to the /t/-/ɪd/ sequence; you should avoid inserting a separate short /ɪ/ vowel before /d/. In careful speech, the sequence is HEɪ-tɪd with a brief, almost quick /t/ release into a light /ɪd/. This subtle timing difference helps avoid an over-aspirated or over-delayed /t/ sound.
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Hated derives from hate, which comes from Old English hate (incised as hatian), related to the Proto-Germanic *hatjanan, meaning to hate or detest. The root carries strong negative emotion and was used in Old English with similar sense of intense aversion. Over time, the form evolved through Middle English to Modern English, with -ed marking the past tense and past participle. Historically, hate expresses permanent or long-held animosity, and the past tense “hated” marks actions, opinions, or feelings that occurred and ended in the past. The word has kept its core emotional charge, though in contemporary usage it can be more casual or rhetorical (as in “I hate waiting”). The first known written uses appear in Old English texts, then in Middle English works, gradually becoming common in modern prose and conversation. The semantic field broadened to cover both personal disgust and generalized disdain, while still preserving its strong negative valence. The evolution reflects shifts in moral and emotional vocabulary, with hate remaining among the strongest terms for negative evaluation. In literature and colloquial speech, “hated” often accompanies descriptions of preference, judgment, and attitude toward actions or situations rather than permanent identity.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "hated" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "hated" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "hated"
-ted sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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