Anathema

“Anathema (noun) An ecclesiastical pronouncement that damns, bans, or excommunicates the person so denounced; solemn curse or declaration of obloquy; unyielding condemnation; person or thing regarded as accursed, detestable, or to be excluded at all costs. N. anathemization; v. anathemize

‘Confiscate! The mere word was anathema to him, and he stormed back and forth in excoriating condemnation, shaking a piercing finger of rebuke in the guilt-ridden faces of Captain Cathcart, Colonel Korn, and the poor battle-scarred captain with the submachine gun who commanded the M.P.s.’ Joseph Heller Catch 22″

Excerpted from: Grambs, David. The Random House Dictionary for Writers and Readers. New York: Random House, 1990.