[ndt]

"I absolutely despise that ..... I don't hate him."

Would you prefer I use the word despise? I might recommend the investment in a good thesaurus.

The only definition not shared by both words is this one for despise.

"To regard as unworthy of one's interest or concern"

And that is most assuredly not the case around here. If you have a novel definition for either word, I would love to hear it.

[Coop]

Who needs a thesaurus? I have a Webster's 9th Collegiate Dicctionary. Listed synonyms for hate (v.) - detest, abhor, abominate, loathe.

No sign of despise anywhere. Hmmmm.

despise - to look down on with contempt or aversion

hate - to feel extreme enmity toward [a subject]

Sorry, Charlie, but they are different. Hate does seem to be a notch higher, a bit more all encompassing perhaps. So it would appear I used them correctly.

But that's really irrelevant. Your use of the word "hate" where it really was a bit out of place told me quite a bit about you.