Detest means "to strongly dislike." Hate is the same as detest, but it also adds emotion, making it more personal. Contempt means "the feeling that something is below you, or less than you, or to look down upon someone." Despise is the same as contempt, but there is a little more feeling involved, similar to the difference between "detest" and "hate," but despise also includes a feeling of wanting to get away from the thing in question. Scorn means the same thing as contempt, but they are typically conjugated differently. You would say "a scorned woman" but not "a contempted woman." Typically when using any of these words, a person could use any of the others and still get their point across. It usually is just dependent on the situation and the speaker which one they choose to use.