aversion
Americannoun
-
aversions
plural
-
a strong feeling of dislike, opposition, repugnance, or antipathy (usually followed byto ).
a strong aversion to snakes and spiders.
- Synonyms:
- disgust, abhorrence, distaste
- Antonyms:
- predilection
-
a cause or object of dislike; person or thing that causes antipathy.
His pet aversion is guests who are always late.
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Obsolete. the act of averting; a turning away or preventing.
noun
-
extreme dislike or disinclination; repugnance
-
a person or thing that arouses this
he is my pet aversion
Synonym Usage
Aversion, antipathy, loathing connote strong dislike or detestation. Aversion is an unreasoning desire to avoid that which displeases, annoys, or offends: an aversion to (or toward ) cats. Antipathy is a distaste, dislike, or disgust toward something: an antipathy toward (or for ) braggarts. Loathing connotes a combination of hatred and disgust, or detestation: a loathing for (or toward ) hypocrisy, a criminal.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of aversion
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin āversiōn-, stem of āversiō; equivalent to averse + -ion
Explanation
If you have an aversion to something, you have an intense dislike for it. Commonly it's food, but you could have an aversion to black and white movies, driving with the windows open, or taking calls from salespeople. An aversion is also the person or thing that is the object of such intense dislike: her aversions included all kinds of vegetables and fruits. This noun is from Latin avertio, ultimately from avertere "to turn away," from the prefix a- "from" plus vertere "to turn." Near synonyms are repugnance and antipathy.
Vocabulary lists containing aversion
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Bowman believes one significant factor contributing to supervisory inaction was a long-standing culture of risk aversion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Most of the people who had electric shock aversion therapy were men.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
A break below technical support alongside rising BoJ rate expectations could signal growing risk aversion across global markets.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
This aversion to excess is coupled with gratitude.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
But too late; he had already told her, and he could see by her face, by the flicker of sudden aversion, that she knew.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
Widespread health- and Ozempic-driven aversions to carbohydrates, changing consumer tastes and concern over rising prices have led to beer volume declines for big brewers including Heineken, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Molson Coors and Constellation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
Sensory aversions to specific smells, tastes, textures, temperatures, or appearances of foods.
From Slate ● Jan. 4, 2025
Pregnancy is often a time for food aversions and exhaustion, but for Keatley the opposite has been true.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2023
"I really regret the rice isn't consumed due to safety rumours, but I also understand it's hard to completely refute aversions."
From Reuters ● Mar. 9, 2023
They say around here that bellies stir up certain cravings or aversions.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
