aversion

noun aver·sion \ə-ˈvər-zhən, -shən\

: a strong feeling of not liking something

Full Definition of AVERSION

obsolete : the act of turning away

a : a feeling of repugnance toward something with a desire to avoid or turn from it <regards drunkenness with aversion>

b : a settled dislike : antipathy <expressed an aversion to parties>

c : a tendency to extinguish a behavior or to avoid a thing or situation and especially a usually pleasurable one because it is or has been associated with a noxious stimulus

: an object of aversion <inconstancy is my aversion — Jane Austen>

See aversion defined for English-language learners

See aversion defined for kids

Examples of AVERSION

Diners who want to reduce the size of their environmental footprint might reassess their aversion to bugs, DeFoliart says. —Janet Raloff, Science News, 7 June 2008
A 16-year Monitor veteran with no previous combat experience, Tyson said she has yet to start reading newspapers on a regular basis because of her aversion to war news and does not like talking about it yet. —Joe Strupp, Editor & Publisher, 21 Apr. 2003
The answer was revealing in many ways. It showed his dark humor, aversion to sentimentality, keen understanding of the role that realism must play in a messy world, and somewhat less keen appreciation for the role that morality plays in sustaining a democracy's foreign policy. —Walter Isaacson, New Republic, 16 Dec. 2002
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Origin of AVERSION

(see averse)

First Known Use: 1596

Related to AVERSION

Synonyms: disgust, distaste, horror, loathing, nausea, repugnance, repulsion, revulsion

Antonyms: appetite, favor, fondness, like, liking, partiality, preference, relish, shine, taste, use

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

Rhymes with AVERSION

aspersion, coercion, conversion, dispersion, diversion, emersion, eversion, excursion, immersion, incursion, inversion, perversion, recursion, reversion, submersion, subversion

AVERSION Defined for Kids

aversion

noun aver·sion \ə-ˈvər-zhən\

Definition of AVERSION for Kids

: a strong dislike

: something strongly disliked

Medical Dictionary

aversion

noun aver·sion \ə-ˈvər-zhən, -shən\

Medical Definition of AVERSION

: a feeling of repugnance toward something with a desire to avoid or turn from it

: a tendency to extinguish a behavior or to avoid a thing or situation and especially a usually pleasurable one because it is or has been associated with a noxious stimulus <conditioning of food aversions by drug injection>