Words Everyone Seems to Hate

words people hate
No, we’re not talking about “homework,” “responsibility” or anything else that implies you’ll have to make an enormous effort when you’d rather be doing something else. Instead, we’re talking about words that give you a feeling of real disgust. They’re perfectly ordinary, otherwise-innocuous-seeming words, but researchers have found when study participants are asked to rate words based on their gut-reaction, these words are consistently rated as being the most hated ones.

A Lot of People Hate the Word “Moist”

Paul Thibodeau, a psychology professor, authored a study based on the way 2,500 people reacted to words, and “moist” was generally considered to be downright nasty. It’s possible the reaction would have been different if he included it in a phrase like “moist chocolate cake,” but when viewed on its own, it was seen as being absolutely disgusting by 25 percent of the group.

Words using similar sounds didn’t get the thumbs down. People felt relatively neutral about “hoist,” for example. So, what’s the problem with “moist?”

Professor Thibodeau thinks it may be the association between “moist” and bodily functions. “Vomit” and “phlegm” were also rated as being among the most-hated, so he joined the dots and decided that words related to bodily fluids were the pits.

A Linguistics Professor and a Neurologist Blame Sounds

Professor Jason Riggle and Dr. David Eagleman, a neuroscientist, think that word aversion comes from the sounds themselves. Just as we feel odd after hearing a jarring sound in music, certain word-sounds are unpleasant to us. Dr. Eagleman has done his own experiments using made-up words and found that people didn’t like unusual sound combinations. So, if we think a word sounds funny, we’re more likely to associate it with something unpleasant.

Associations or Sounds: Who Is Right?

I’m going to sit on the fence with this one. Associations really can make a word disgusting. Take “vomit” for example. The very thought of vomiting is stomach-churning. The word itself is probably innocent enough, but the association is utterly gross!

At the same time, I can believe that sounds that don’t fit our ideas of harmony would also be jarring. Unlike Dr. Eagleman, I’ve never invented a truly disgusting word, and I wouldn’t know where to begin, but it makes sense in a way.

I’d say both reasons for being disgusted by words are valid. What do you think?

Is This Useful Knowledge?

Oddly enough, I think this knowledge could be useful, particularly in the marketing world. When we send out marketing messages, we need to be very careful in our word choices. We might even want to disgust our audience before offering them a calming, soothing message that explains how to solve a problem. Alternatively, we might want to avoid any negative associations whatsoever.

Still, just because of chocolate cake, I’m not altogether convinced about the gut-churning effects of the word “moist.” Couple it with cake, and suddenly, it sounds very, very yummy. Is it just me who thinks so? Of course, being covered with moist sweat sounds a whole lot less delicious, so I think we need to add context before we can talk about word aversion.

Made-up words are two-a-penny. Just look at company names and brand names, and you’re sure to find at least a few invented words. If we could know what sounds or combinations of sounds give people that “Eeeyew!” feeling of disgust, and which ones make them feel great, it could surely help companies with their branding strategies.

Is It OK to Hate Words?

I’ve read commentary about how silly it is to hate words, but whether it’s silly or not, it seems to be a real enough phenomenon. But to play devil’s advocate, we need negative words as much as we need positive ones. After all, if you want to describe something gross, having some unpleasant-sounding words or ones with less-than-charming associations, is mighty handy!

I use “vomit” quite often, “I went into the exam room, vomited out a whole lot of information, and scored an A!” The word “regurgitated” is interchangeable here, or you could use it to indicate your disgust, “He just regurgitated the same old information we always hear on that subject!”

Of course, some people react more strongly to word aversion than others do, and I put it down to sensitivity or possibly a very active imagination. Neither of these things is bad to have, although they might make your life a little more interesting than it needs to be.

What Words Do You Hate and Why?

First, a few ground-rules. We’ll just assume that anything obscene or scatological is gross, so those words are out of bounds. Some words are annoying, but that’s because of the way people use them and abuse them, so we’ll overlook them too. What we want, is a list of words that make you feel slightly queasy just looking at them.

Here’s my two cents’ worth:

  • Blog. I don’t know why I hate it so much. I think it’s the sound of the word. And looking around the web, I see that others agree with me.
  • Mucus. This seems to confirm the theory that bodily fluids disgust us. But somehow, even “snot” is better than “mucus,” so maybe it’s a combination of sound and association.
  • Pustule. Yuk! I can’t think of a good thing to say about this word. Nothing about it is nice!
  • Maggot. The word itself may not be to blame, but the associations are there!

To be honest, I don’t think there are any words that I hate in the truest sense of the word, but these would certainly top my list of the words I don’t like all that much.

Top Words People Hate

For those looking for a top list of words people hate, here are some words to consider:

  • Blog
  • Bulbous
  • Chunky
  • Clogged
  • Curd
  • Dripping
  • Fester
  • Fetus
  • Gurgle
  • Jowls
  • Lugubrious
  • Maggots
  • Moist
  • Mucus
  • Munch
  • Orifice
  • Panties
  • Phlegm
  • Pustule
  • Queasy
  • Roaches
  • Secrete
  • Slacks
  • Slurp
  • Smear
  • Squirt
  • Viscous
  • Vomit
  • Yolk

Are there words that you simply hate? Let us know in the comments.

  • That list of words made my stomach feel uneasy for an hour after reading it. I don’t know why some words make me cringe like that, but you definitely found a lot that make me feel that way.

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    • Like as a pet name or just in general? Like I get how it could be icky to hear grown people calling each other that (doesn’t bother me though), but what else do you call a new human? It sounds a little weird always saying “infant”.

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    • Henry, I want to kill the word “prosper.” I hate Star Trek and Mr. Spock so much I want to dispose of them!

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  • The word that I hate sounds like chalk scraping across the chalkboard — actually! I cringe when I hear the word.

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    • I have nothing wrong with the word “actually” but every time people talk about chalk/nails on chalk it makes me physically cringe and I can hear it for ages afterwards

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      • I can *feel* the heebie-jeebies in my body for a good while afterward, whether or not I had a spine chill from it. (I’ve had two while typing this)

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  • I’ve developed a dislike of “gulp”. I’ve just read a book in which a couple are getting hot and steamy, and the author says “she gulped his mouth” – eugh! Although I don’t mind it in the cartoon sense, in a thought bubble.

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    • Glad it’s not just me. I can’t even write the word. So to find it second in the comment makes me feel not so daft😂

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    • I like Star Trek and the word prosper now. I don’t want to kill the word prosper, but I want to kill the word “bath.” I hate baths.

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  • As a professional writer, I constantly and purposefully use words that evoke thought or emotion. The words in your list all seem to have strong associations with our physical being, which, of course, can generate emotions or help to describe a scene or setting. This is especially true for fiction when evoking the environment where the action is taking place. Non-fiction requires avoidance of such words. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on how certain words are more effective depending on the format.

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  • I abhor the words “bistro”, “tier” and the phrase “touch base”. I also have had it with made up corporate names like “Ceridian” or “Engility”.

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  • I currently Despise the words Bespoke and Eponymous. Eponymous because I always have to look it up in the dictionary even though I looked it up the last time I saw it. Hate that word. Bespoke is just stupid. Sounds like people trying to appear haute and superior. Why not just say “custom-made”?

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    • Yes yes yes. I just sent a list of words I hate and I think it wS #1. Also hate ‘curated’ and ‘luminous’ when applied to writing. And agree with whoever said ‘veggies’. I have gnashed my teeth over that one for 30 years.

      A word I love is ‘rictus.’

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    • Haha- You have an excellent list- but I’d also add yummy. It’s a childish word to describe something that tastes good. Not a fan!

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    • Tummy. And it’s always adult women saying tummy. As with “yummy”. Under no circumstances should any adult be using the word “yummy” in conversation with other adults.

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  • One word I loathe using (as of now onwards) is “Fantastic” (even when others use it too). I’d suggest everyone refrains from using it from now on.

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  • Feet…. toes
    I absolutely HATE the word Feet

    Makes me cringe.

    And only when i pay attention anything that has the “k” sound in it because i know what the throat is doing to make that sound.

    And of course any New word generation y comes up with
    ( bae, turnt, lit, fleek, adulting, epic)

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        • Just like every generation, “these new kids and their fangled [insert anything here]” like dude. You hating the word feet is far more cringe than the word itself. Plus you act like epic was made by Gen Y…? Are you inept? Or are you seriously that ignorant… Epics are older stories in the northern Mediterranean that depict people accomplishing big feats and was later appropriated as something that one sees as awesome. That was Gen X.

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      • Oh NO. Because someone somewhere is pronouncing it “litchurally”. I refuse to tolerate this abuse of linguistics!

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  • I can’t stand cutesy food related words like sip, nibble, snack, or munch (that’s how I found this, looking up “I hate the word munch”), but the top word I despise is “cozy”. For some reason that word enrages me. I think it’s something about words that are deliberately cutesy – “comfortable”, I’m fine with, it’s pretty straightforward. “Comfy” annoys me, but it’s just a shortening of the actual word. But “cozy” has added connotations of yuck.

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  • ‘Ultimately’, when dropped in a sentence really gets my back up but I don’t know why!
    Oh and ‘romp’. Yuck.

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      • Ock! I know that all too well. Trying to submit some writing, applying for a job, trying to get a query resolved, most of the time with your heart and soul poured into the paper.

        Just to get that dismissive email response back. I always read it, hearing an oily, down-talking voice, plus a slight lisp for some reason. I swear it is usually either sarcastic or that they simply could not care.

        In times like that, I would prefer a GFY. At least they aren’t playing your around.

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  • I hate cutesy shortened variations on words:
    veggies for vegetables
    mac & cheese for macaroni & cheese
    sammy for sandwich
    I find that last one especially irritating because it makes no sense. There is no m in sandwich, so the cutesy variation should be sanny or sandy.
    I also hated the trend of calling McDonald’s Mickey D’s, but that seems to have stopped.
    It’s not a shortened version, but I could live a long and happy life without ever hearing kiddos again.
    Another particularly annoying trend is the turning of nouns into verbs. Adulting, for example.
    And then there is the devolving of the word awesome into an all-purpose adjective to describe anything that is the slightest bit positive.

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  • Nosh, sip, munch, and combining any of these with “enjoy” in the same paragraph. I just hate other people eating.

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  • The word Mrs (I have nothing wrong with the association or with marriage I just hate the way it sounds – Miss sounds way nicer than Ms or Mrs)

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  • vestibule- i think it sounds pretentious
    encrusted- when talking about clothes eg encrusted with beads- ew it sounds infected

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  • I absolutely despise the word MOIST-CREVICE if anyone uses that word… then stuff it up your arse then. A man who i once knew named Paggi used that word to me whilst talking about a foot fetish.xx

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    • Not to bothered about tummy , but panties and preggers 😡
      I also hate “utterly “& belly

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  • this is a much more entertaining comment section than I thought it would be. feels bad for all you guys getting mad at each other in a word counter comment section

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  • I don’t like tickle, prey, gulp, gulk, gurgle, slosh, vore, gorge, any word that has to do with a stomach noise or something carnivorous, voracious, swallow whole, and that’s all 🙁

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  • Definitely the word “belly.” I refuse to say it. I’ll say stomach, abdomen or even mid-section. Although I will never, ever use “belly” when referring to anything but words I hate.

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  • I hate the word “kiddos”. It is so annoying to hear people, mainly teachers and mothers, refer to kids with that word. It makes them sound like they aren’t human to me and seems so degrading.

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    • I don’t like kiddos or even kids. My mother and I got into several arguments because I didn’t like being called a kid. I preferred being called a child, later teenager or adolescent. As a substitute teacher I refer to my clients as students. I don’t call them kids or kiddos. Preschool we call them friends.

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  • I hate anything to do with ripping out, above all things, the tongue.
    just ew no pls
    I also hate “unicorn” and “snowflake” as insults,
    because y’all seriously aren’t happy with what you’ve already got?

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  • I don’t know why, but I can’t stand the word “Precocious”. I have absolutely no reason, it just annoys me.

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  • Love words but hate “apply,” “application,” “supplication,” “sample”; and most body part words…

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  • This comment section has been hilarious to read. Fantastic? Unfortunately? Platter? LEGS?! Apparently, all of those words are disgusting to one person or another. Human diversity is amazing. (Oops, I’m pretty sure someone up there hated the word “amazing” too)

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  • The unnecessary ‘shortening’ of words (primarily in the British lexicon) that they’re actually not shortening…”Preggers” instead of “pregnant”, “brekkie” instead of “breakfast” and “champers” instead of “Champagne”. All of these started as 2 syllable words and ended up as…2 syllable words.

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  • CRUSTY! Especially when food bloggers say “have this soup with some warm crusty bread” It makes me so angry 🤣

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  • I love every single word. As a writer, if these words people are senselessly disgusted by and are complaining about didn’t exist, the English language would be boring.

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  • There are some weird things I don’t like. I don’t like the phrase “24/7” Also “comfort food.” I’d rather say “junk food.” Then if someone records an old song I don’t like the term “cover.” It is a remake. Maybe it isn’t anything because there was a time when you had songwriters and singers.

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  • As a child I got into trouble because I wouldn’t say, “I’m sorry.” I hated the sound of the word “sorry.” Also the first syllable of either should be pronounced with a long e. Pronouncing it with a long i sounds awful.

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  • I hate the phrase “snack on”. Dietary advice always tells you to “Snack on” this or that. Total hate.

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  • I hate the word well being cause it used so much. Well being. There are other words. Joy . Content and more.
    Yes ! Trending. I hate that.
    It like the vocabulary of the world shrunk .

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  • I hate the word “snack”. To me it just sounds like straight junk food. As if, for some reason, whatever the snack is just will not be healthy. It’ll be candy or chips or cookies. Any junk food that’s portable and requires little to no utensils to consume.
    I’ve also heard people use “snack” to describe some kind of hot food. I’m sorry – I don’t think of anything that’s been cooked when I hear “snack”. Appetizer would be more befitting in that case. Please don’t refer to a full plate of wings as a “snack”. Unless you’re putting that full plate of wings in your purse to bring somewhere else to eat later.

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  • Amazing site, really great!
    Thanks for the feedback and for really showing the words people HATE
    There are quite a few I HATE in the list that you have.
    anyways thanks!:)

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  • The word I hate most is maybe, it is just a lazy way to keep someone’s hopes up or a lazy way of saying perhaps, possibly, or probably. It is also too common in some people, and it is best to just say no right off the bat, rather than being “nice” and holding a “later” for the present time. Another word I hate is the verb may, as it just doesn’t sound right to me, and it looks stupid lowercased since it is a month otherwise than the logic crap. I just think could or might just sound more appropriate, since they are longer words, they sound stronger, and they are used too little, people are acting like they are worthless words and they are just a “weak” way, but the wish might be okay, as May she rest in peace does sound good, but the request gives me a headache every time I hear or think of it. I just think those two words are the worst ones to ever enter the English dictionary.

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  • The two words I absolutely despise are “Particular” and “Support”. I just don’t like the way they sound….no other reason.

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  • I hate the word girl, I’ve always been interested in non gendered things (clothing, activities, colours, ect..) and I hate the connotation in the word girl that being female is different from being a girl because I typically hear the word girl when people reffer to the stereotypical or “traditional” Way of being female, so everytime I’m called a girl, woman, or “young lady”, I cringe to my hearts content haha.

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  • Hubby, any nessariliy feminine word(‘s) describing a female, cringe, baby/bae, pudussy(little kids slang making female genitals and reproductive functions(?) even more taboo), womanly/girly, Tomboy, girly girl, feminine, masculine, and horny.

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  • “Relatives”. It always makes me think of nosy, boring people your parents force you to be around.

    Also “people” and “person”, they feel so politically charged e.g. “People’s Republic”

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  • They also feel really judgemental. I feel like most conversations involving “people” or “person” aren’t leading to anything good.

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  • I hate the word “showcase.” Students use this constantly in their essays and I want to pull their hair out for it. They have other deplorable writing habits as well. Writing skills have deteriorated, but the use of “showcase” is maddening.

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  • I hate the word “cocoa”. I don’t like saying it. I don’t like hearing it. It sounds un-intelligent, elementary, and gross to my ears. It’s the equivalent of a Neanderthal grunt in my opinion. I understand its origination and history and I still hate it. I’ve been married for 19 years and I’ve never once voiced my disgust to my wife until this Christmas when my children started chanting for “hot cocoa!, hot cocoa!, hot cocoa!”. I finally popped and revealed my secret to my wife, which in turn…she found hilarious and has been taking great pleasure in using it as much as possible just to watch me squirm. What are spouses for…other than to annoy the hell out of each other…right?

    Other than that, another couple I can’t stand are the slang terms “fam” and “bet”. Again, these sound un-intelligent and in most instances of their usage, they make no sense whatsoever.
    “I never be using a word like cocoa, fam. Bet.”
    That’s the type of language that makes one question a person’s intelligence…and blood alcohol content.

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  • I personally hate this welsh word or words, Tipyn Bach (pronounced tip in bacsh) it means “a little bit”

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  • Why talk about the words you hate, instead talk about the words you like and please don’t be a hater.

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  • Can I add words even though it’s a long time since this has been active? I’ve been looking for a place to tell someone –
    Reach out – how about I CALLED that person.
    Iconic – ewwwww. It’s usually used inappropriately.
    Wheelhouse – hate that word. It’s not in my wheelhouse. How about “I don’t know”
    I hate an entire list of these cringe inducing words.
    I adulted today. WTF

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  • A few words I can’t stand are ‘brekkie’, ‘tummy’, ‘belly’, ‘lollies’, ‘blouse’, ‘meal’, and using the word ‘talent’ to refer to actors.
    Also a phrase I can’t stand is ‘a bite to eat’ – like who literally has a single bite of their lunch..

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  • I loathe the word “hegemony.” It’s roots are Greek and we don’t have many words from Greek in English. It’s pretentious. You see it for the first time and don’t immediately know how to pronounce it. “Dominance” is a perfectly good alternative and is similar to other words in English. I also hate “discern.” It makes your lips do an unappetizing thing. And again, there are perfectly good English words to use instead!

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