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Did you cringe or feel super uncomfortable reading any of the words in the title? Well, if you did, you're not alone. It's actually a real and common feeling called word aversion. In fact, researchers say that 20% of the population equate hearing the word "moist" to hearing fingernails on a chalkboard. In this article, Paul Thibodeau of Oberlin College tests his hypotheses toward word aversions with a language experiment. One of his explanations for the origin of word aversion is the word's phonological properties. Another, is that the word has to do with concepts people tend to associate with that word. Read this article to learn about Dr. Thibodeau's results from conducting five experiments to provide data for these two competing explanations.

Warning: this article contains a word that you might find offensive. In fact, some readers might find it so deeply unsettling that they might begin to wonder about the cause of their aversion. What is it about this word that generates such a visceral experience of revulsion and discomfort?

A recent Times article asked readers to name everyday words that repelled them. There was a wide variety of answers from simple words like moist to complicated words like pulchritude. There were also some random words that inspired word aversion for no apparent reason. This New York Times article explains why some people have word aversion to certain categories of words.

"Might people who write only by printing - in block letters, or perhaps with a sloppy, squiggly signature - be more at risk for forgery? Is the development of a fine motor skill thwarted by an aversion to cursive handwriting? And what happens when young people who are not familiar with cursive have to read historical documents like the Constitution?"

You could describe our relationship with words as love-hate. They often make us swoon, but sometimes, they make us cringe. It's not always their fault, though. Word aversion, the phenomenon that makes us physically sick upon hearing things like "yolk" and "slurp," is a visceral reaction.

Article explores the possible reasons behind word aversion: the unpleasant strong reactions triggered by the sound, sight, and sometimes even the thought of certain words. Reasons may include 1. Social interactions and media coverage 2. Connecting the properties of an especially repellent thing to the word that represents it, e.g. rats are associated w/ filth 3. Words sound ugly

This article talks about word aversion and explains why you don't like certain words.