aversion

noun

aver·​sion ə-ˈvər-zhən 

-shən

1

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

2

: an object of dislike or aversion

"Of all things inconstancy is my aversion."

—Jane Austen

3

obsolete : the act of turning away

Synonyms

• disgust
• hatred
• distaste
• nausea
• horror

Examples of aversion in a Sentence

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

They regarded war with aversion.

I simply have this ingrained aversion to the sight of bloodshed.

Recent Examples on the Web

One columnist with the New Pittsburgh Courier even slapped Whyte’s label on the United Nations, suggesting that countries, like individuals, had a primal aversion to yielding their sovereignty to the groupthink of world governance. —David Merritt Johns, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2025

To get past her water aversion? —Erica Sloan, SELF, 30 Oct. 2025

Governors in many states enjoy clemency power similar to that held by presidents, but aversion to political risk has stifled its use. —Khalil Cumberbatch, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025

The ink is barely dry on their deal with Paramount, and the duo declined to stay with Netflix because of that streamer’s longtime aversion to theatrical releases. —Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see averse

First Known Use

1585, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing aversion

• aversion therapy

Rhymes for aversion

• aspersion
• conversion
• dispersion
• diversion
• eversion
• excursion
• immersion
• incursion
• inversion
• perversion
• recursion
• reversion

Kids Definition

aversion

noun

aver·​sion ə-ˈvər-zhən 

1

: a strong dislike

2

: something strongly disliked

Medical Definition

aversion

noun

aver·​sion ə-ˈvər-zhən, -shən 

1

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

2

: 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