detest vs despise

detest and despise both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
detest	No	No	Yes	No
despise	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, despise is a hyponym of detest; that is, despise is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than detest:

Other hyponyms of detest include abhor, abominate, execrate, loathe, contemn, disdain, scorn.

detest (verb)	despise (verb)
dislike intensely; feel antipathy or aversion towards	look down on with disdain