When you abominate something, you really, really hate it. You might abominate your curfew, or the substitute teacher for your math class. Picture a preacher telling you, "Abominate sin!"
Abominate comes from the Latin verb abominari, which comes from ab-, meaning “away from,” and omin, meaning “omen.” You might consider something you abominate — the sound of nails on a chalkboard, for many — to be as thoroughly bad as a bad omen itself. You avoid that sound at all costs, the way some people avoid a black cat crossing the street.