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yowie

9.9

A short cry people say when surprised, hurt, or disgusted

interjection

Australian

: yowie

yowie, that's really surprising news!

Examples

yowie! I can't believe you did that!
Yee yowie!

Tammy and the T-Rex (1994)
When he stubbed his toe, he yelled, 'yowie!'

Synonyms

ugh

vsyowie

Informal

282 7.9

A short sound people make to show disgust or annoyance

also signals sudden surprise or sharp pain in some uses

heck

vsyowie

Informal

139 7.4

A short mild word people say to show surprise, annoyance, or strong feeling

covers stronger or cruder feelings like disgust or sudden pain

eww

vsyowie

Informal

39 9.5

A short sound people make when they find something disgusting

is more versatile, adding surprise and sudden pain senses

holy shit

vsyowie

Offensive

26 9.9

A strong phrase people say when they are very surprised or shocked

is milder and usable for surprise, disgust, or pain

golly

vsyowie

Archaic

24 9.9

A word people say to show mild surprise

is more general and includes cruder feelings like disgust

oww

vsyowie

Informal

22 9.3

A short cry you make when something suddenly hurts

also fits non-pain reactions like disgust or startled surprise

sheesh

vsyowie

Slang

22 9.8

A short word people say to show surprise, admiration, or annoyance

also fits sharper reactions such as disgust or sudden pain

lordy

vsyowie

Informal

17 9.4

A short informal cry showing surprise or strong feeling

is similar but also commonly used for disgust or pain

woah

vsyowie

Informal

14 8.8

A short cry people use to show surprise or amazement

adds other reactions such as pain or disgust beyond amazement

fucking hell

vsyowie

Offensive

14 9.9

A strong rude shout people use when they feel very angry or shocked

is less intense and usable for simple surprise or disgust

yow

vsyowie

Informal

13 9.9

A short cry said to show surprise, excitement, or sudden pain

is broader, adding disgust and general surprise as well as pain

oooh

vsyowie

Informal

7 9.1

A short sound people make when they feel a quick pain

is not limited to mild pain and includes disgust uses

urgh

vsyowie

7 9.3

A sound people make to show disgust or annoyance

is shorter and more varied, also used for surprise or pain

yuck

vsyowie

Informal

5 8.3

A short sound people make to show disgust

is broader, used for surprise or sharp pain as well

yeesh

vsyowie

Slang

5 9.9

A short word people say to show surprise, discomfort, or mild disgust at something awkward

is broader, equally fitting sudden pain or plain surprise

yuk

vsyowie

Informal

4 9.5

An exclamation used to show disgust or strong dislike

also covers sudden pain or startled surprise beyond disgust

gawd

vsyowie

Slang

4 9.9

A short informal word people say when they feel surprise, shock, or annoyance

is broader, also used for disgust and sudden pain

aagh

vsyowie

Informal

3 9.9

A short cry people make when they feel pain or are annoyed

leans more neutral, also used for surprise or disgust

yech

vsyowie

Informal

3 9.9

A short word people say to show disgust

is broader, also used for sudden surprise or sharp pain

egad

vsyowie

Archaic

3 9.9

An old word people say to show surprise or shock

is less formal and used for disgust or sudden pain

geesh

vsyowie

Informal

2 9.9

An informal word people say to show surprise, annoyance, or that they do not believe something

can be stronger, also indicating disgust or sudden pain

fie

vsyowie

Archaic

2 9.9

An old exclamation showing strong disapproval or disgust

is more neutral and also expresses simple surprise or pain

ewww

vsyowie

Informal

1 9.9

A short sound showing disgust at something gross

is wider, often used for surprise or sharp shock too

aiee

vsyowie

Informal

1 9.9

A short cry showing surprise, pain, or fear

is similar but also commonly signals disgust or distaste

yike

vsyowie

Informal

1 9.9

A short word people say to show surprise, discomfort, or embarrassment

covers stronger feelings too, including disgust or sudden pain

yeech

vsyowie

Informal

1 9.9

A short sound people say to show disgust

also signals surprise or physical pain in some uses

woa

vsyowie

Informal

1 9.9

A short shout showing surprise or asking for attention

is more likely to signal pain or disgust as well as surprise

yipes

vsyowie

Informal

9.9

A short cry of sudden surprise or fear

also covers disgust and plain surprise beyond fear

yipe

vsyowie

Informal

9.6

A short cry showing surprise, fear, or excitement

is wider, including disgust and plain shock as reactions

yikes on bikes

vsyowie

Informal

9.9

A short shout showing surprise, alarm, or disbelief

is more general, used for real pain, disgust, or shock

bejeezus

vsyowie

Informal

9.9

A loud informal shout that shows surprise, shock, or strong annoyance

is broader and used for disgust or sudden pain as well

what the cuss

vsyowie

Informal

9.9

A short angry or surprised shout used instead of a rude word

is more direct and can show disgust or pain as well

whillikers

vsyowie

Archaic

9.9

A word people used long ago to show surprise

is more modern and used for disgust and pain too

gadzooks

vsyowie

Archaic

9.9

An old-fashioned shout to show surprise or annoyance

is more common in modern speech and covers disgust or pain

zowie

vsyowie

Archaic

9.9

A short shout people use to show surprise or excitement, often in a playful way

is broader and modern, covering disgust and sudden pain too

jeepers

vsyowie

Archaic

9.9

An old-fashioned word people say to show surprise

also fits unpleasant reactions such as disgust or sharp pain

yoicks

vsyowie

Archaic

9.9

An old, playful shout showing surprise, alarm, or disgust

covers the same shock but also plain disgust or pain

swounds

vsyowie

Archaic

9.9

An old word people say to show surprise, anger, or shock

is current and covers disgust or pain as well as surprise

How Intense

wow

Informal

∞ 1.0

ouch

Informal

134 2.8

yowie

Australian

9.9

∞ 1.0

to yike

Informal

1 9.9

Surface Forms

yowie main

Morphology

yowie = yow (semi-transparent) = yow + ie

Formed from the exclamation 'yow' with colloquial/informal suffix '-ie'; the relation to the base interjection is clear but the informal spelling and expressive function may not be fully obvious to learners.

Etymology

Yowie is an exclamation for surprise, pain, or disgust, and it likely comes from the simple cry ow or owie. Think of it as a louder 'ow' you shout when something hurts or shocks you.