be detestable

I hated the idea of a war between any of the great powers, and that any of them should be dragged into a war by Serbia would be detestable.

From The Story of the Great War, Volume I (of 8) Introductions; Special Articles; Causes of War; Diplomatic and State Papers by Allen L. (Allen Leon) Churchill

It proved, when it came, to be detestable; I could not put it to my lips; and Bellairs, who had as much palate as a weevil, was left to finish it himself.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 13 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson

Baroness--You are too complimentary: your cause must be detestable.

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 3 by Hamilton Wright Mabie

"Let them," said the Queen, "be brought away only by their own consent, otherwise the act will be detestable, and bring down the vengeance of heaven upon us."

From Twenty-Two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman Embracing a Correspondence of Several Years, While President of Wilberforce Colony, London, Canada West by Austin Steward

An ornament that would be admirable applied to one object, might be detestable if applied to another.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 598, June 18, 1887 by Various