A hater is someone who writes or says nasty things about a person and runs down their success, most often online. The word is informal and disapproving, and it's usually used in the plural: ignore the haters. In an essay or a work email, write people who post abusive comments online, and in IELTS Speaking you can say people who leave nasty comments.
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the haters; ignore the haters; hate on + person/thing; haters gonna hate
- Ignore the haters, your cover of that song was honestly brilliant.
- Why is everyone hating on her new haircut? I think it looks great.
- Every time he posts a video, the same three haters leave nasty comments.
What changed
First versionEveryone in the comments is hating me just because I posted a video of me singing.
RevisionEveryone in the comments is hating on me just because I posted a video of me singing.
Hate someone means to feel a strong dislike for them: it's an emotion, not comments. Nasty attacks online are hate on someone, so the correction is hating on me.
A critic judges work on its merits, often professionally: The critics loved her new album. A hater explains nothing and just wants to hurt: He's not a critic, he's just a hater. That's why it's unfair to call someone who criticises constructively a hater.
Your turn
He leaves nasty comments under every video she posts but never explains what he dislikes, so he's just a ___.
Show the answer
hater — He leaves nasty comments under every video and never explains what he dislikes: that's how a hater behaves. A critic judges the work on its merits and explains their objections, and here there are none.
Text a friend who's upset by nasty comments under their post. Use haters and give one specific piece of advice.
The haters don't even know you, so just turn off the comments on that post.
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