Everyone has that one, seemingly innocent word that makes their skin crawl, with moist being a strong contender for many.
So, which words officially make us the most squeamish? Online language platform Preply has used data available on voting site Ranker to discover the words that have been voted as the grossest sounding.
Coming in at number one is pus. Voted as the grossest sounding English word with almost 10,000 votes, it’s defined as “a white/yellowish liquid formed on the site of a wound or infection.”
Phlegm came in second place, with 8,984 votes, defined as “a liquid secreted by mucous membranes”.
Other words on the list include, moist, ooze and fester.
| Word |
Meaning |
Votes |
| Pus |
A white/yellowish liquid formed on the site of a wound or infection. |
9,799 |
| Phlegm |
A liquid secreted by mucous membranes. |
8,984 |
| Seepage |
The slow escape of a liquid or gas through small holes or porous material. |
8,799 |
| Moist |
Sightly damp, wet, or humid. |
8,234 |
| Splooge |
An abrupt discharge of fluid. |
7,893 |
| Fester |
Of a wound or sore that becomes septic; suppurate. |
7,223 |
| Mucus |
A slippery secretion produced by and covered by mucous membranes. |
7,083 |
| Ooze |
Fluid slowly trickle or seep out of something. |
6,990 |
| Putrid |
Organic matter decaying or rotting and emitting a fetid smell |
6,912 |
| Curd |
A dairy product obtained by curdling milk. Can substitute soy. |
6,344 |
Source: Preply
The team at Preply also discovered which words men and women find the grossest.
For the men, seepage was voted as the grossest word, meaning “the slow escape of a liquid or gas through small holes or porous material”, whereas women voted pus as the grossest word.
In second place for men was moist, while women found splooge as the second grossest. Interestingly, all words on the list for both men and women are biological, showing that both genders seem to dislike words that conjure up images of illness or ailment.
For men the list was Seepage, Moist, Phlegm, Ooze, Fester, Loogie, Sploogem Mucus, Gullet and Snot.
For women the list is Pus, Splooge, Mucus, Moist, Phlegm, Snot, Putrid, Congeal and Bulbous.
Daniele Saccard from Preply said “Many people feel queasy towards certain words or phrases. This phenomenon is called world aversion, meaning a strong dislike or repulsion towards the word.
“This demonstrates just how powerful language can be. Language has the ability to make us feel all types of positive emotions, including love and happiness. However, on the contrary, language also has the power to make us uncomfortable or disgust.”
