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revulsion

revulsion

18 6.3
A strong feeling of disgust at something very unpleasant
  • noun
  • /rɪˈvʌlʃən/
translation icon : repugnancia
  • Horror, humiliation, panic, and revulsion were all emotions that crowded into her, and she wanted to flee.
  • moral revulsion
  • revulsion and disgust
  • deep revulsion

But certainly we have a, This is why I say an almost total societal revulsion of fascism.

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Examples

  • I understand the revulsion everyone feels in the face of brutal murder.

  • The range of this suffering may vary from mild irritation to deep revulsion, shock, anger, fear, or stress.

    Academic text (1998)
  • And I just, you know, the revulsion of just reading a couple pages of it.

  • Even the memory of it brought back the anger and the revulsion he had felt then.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Why do you feel revulsion, a very, very strong emotion about this ideology?

  • I'm sure that you, with me, share the absolute horror and total revulsion at what happened in Paris last Friday.

  • The atrocities committed by both sides produced an ethical revulsion among certain commentators.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Ronny felt an instant deep revulsion toward this utterance of his father's.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • As a result, they underestimated the popular revulsion to the corruption and crony privatization that accompanied the reforms.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Her face twisted in revulsion when she saw the unsanitary kitchen conditions.

Synonyms

horror
vsrevulsion
441 2.1

A very strong feeling of fear, shock, or disgust

focuses primarily on pure disgust without fear or shock
loathing
vsrevulsion
48 5.2

A strong feeling of hatred and disgust for someone or something

leans more toward pure disgust without explicit hatred
aversion
vsrevulsion
31 6.5

A strong dislike of something or someone

carries stronger physical disgust rather than mild dislike
antipathy
vsrevulsion
11 8.3

A strong feeling of dislike toward someone or something

is more about strong disgust and emotional rejection than mere dislike
repulsion
vsrevulsion
3 6.2

A strong feeling of dislike and disgust

is more forceful, emphasizing overwhelming disgust rather than milder dislike
repugnance
vsrevulsion
3 8.4

A strong feeling of dislike or disgust

is slightly more intense and centered on pure disgust
abhorrence
vsrevulsion
2 7.8

A very strong feeling of hate and disgust

is less about moral judgment and more simple physical disgust
detestation
vsrevulsion
1 8.6

A very strong feeling of hate and disgust for someone or something

is slightly more about emotional hatred than mere disgust
repugnancy
vsrevulsion
9.1

A strong feeling of disgust or deep dislike

is more focused on raw disgust feeling rather than incompatibility

Antonyms

1.0

A feeling of enjoyment or happiness from something

184 1.2

A thing or feeling that gives great pleasure

How Disgusted

loathing
48 5.2
revulsion
18 6.3
disgust
87 2.0
distaste
28 4.1
dislike
  • Texting
49 1.0

Surface Forms

revulsion singular
revulsions plural

Morphology

revulsion = revulse (semi-transparent) = revuls + ion

Formed from the verb 'revulse' (stem 'revuls-') plus the noun-forming suffix '-ion'; the stem alternation and rarity of 'revulse' make the derivation less obvious to learners.

Etymology

Revulsion comes from Latin parts re- ('back') and vuls ('to pull'), so it originally meant a 'pulling back' from something. That is why a revulsion is a strong feeling of disgust, as if you are pulled away from what you hate.