aversive

adjective aver·sive \ ə-ˈvər-siv , -ziv \

|Updated on: 7 Jul 2018

Definition of aversive

: tending to avoid or causing avoidance of a noxious or punishing stimulus

behavior modification by aversive stimulation

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aversively

adverb

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aversiveness

noun

Recent Examples of aversive from the Web

When most people look at pictures designed to elicit an aversive reaction, such as of a cockroach, the brain’s insula lights up with activity.

— helen thomson, WSJ, "Strange Stories of Extraordinary Brains—and What We Can Learn From Them," 29 June 2018
With some 60 likenesses by a notoriously testy, people-aversive artist-rebel, this is the largest gathering of its kind in a century.

— New York Times, "24 Art Exhibitions to View in N.Y.C. This Weekend," 28 June 2018
Activating cells in the mice’s amygdalae was enough to make neutral-tasting water either appealing or aversive.

— simon makin, Scientific American, "A Matter of Taste: Can a Sweet Tooth Be Switched Off in the Brain?," 30 May 2018
But technology has overcome the neutrino’s aversive nature and opened up a new window onto the universe.

— alan hirshfeld, WSJ, "Review: A New Astronomy Through ‘The Telescope in the Ice’," 15 Dec. 2017
The first one is associated with a state of mind that is aversive.

— john williams, New York Times, "Tell Us 5 Things About Your Book: ‘Why,’ About the Science of Curiosity," 16 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'aversive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of aversive

see averse

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1911

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Psychology Terms

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

Medical Dictionary

aversive

adjective aver·sive \ ə-ˈvər-siv, -ziv \

medical Definition of aversive

: tending to avoid or causing avoidance of a noxious or punishing stimulus

behavior modification by aversive conditioning

—

aversively

adverb

—

aversiveness

noun

aversive

noun

medical Definition of aversive

: a noxious or punishing stimulus used to suppress an undesirable behavior or habit

Aversives enter the picture because, although many “positive” (nonpunitive) methods for stopping self-injurious behaviors have been developed, they don't work in all cases.
—Constance Holden, Science, 31 Aug. 1990