Disgust

Psychology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Intense revulsion or repugnance toward something offensive or contaminating.

Detailed Definition
Disgust in poetry invokes the visceral—rotting flesh, filth, decay—to confront mortality, moral corruption, or social abjection. Poets employ sensory overload and grotesque imagery to jolt readers, as in Baudelaire or Swift. Disgust can repel or fascinate, forcing engagement with the body's limits and society's hypocrisies, making it a potent tool for satire, horror, and existential reckoning.
Example
Example in poetry:
Disgust in Robert Herrick's disgusting epigrams about village residents; Pablo Neruda's "Walking Around" expresses disgust with the body and society; Ogden Nash's "The Eel" confesses disgust with the way eels feel; Charles Baudelaire's "The Monster" juxtaposes desire and disgust; Swinburne's "Disgust" deals with misery and poison; Old English poetry uses disgust to preserve social order through shame and guilt.
Additional Notes
Disgust in poetry invokes the visceral—rotting flesh, filth, decay—to confront mortality, moral corruption, or social abjection. Poets employ sensory overload and grotesque imagery to jolt readers, as in Baudelaire or Swift. In teaching, distinguish disgust from repulsion: disgust is a feeling of revulsion, while repulsion implies being driven away. Disgust can repel or fascinate, forcing engagement with the body's limits and society's hypocrisies. It is a potent tool for satire, horror, and existential reckoning. Students should examine how poets use olfactory, tactile, and gustatory imagery to evoke this powerful emotion.
Also Known As
Revulsion loathing nausea abhorrence repugnance ick Repulsion Scunner
Skip to main content