Meaning & use
disgusting
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
So unpleasant to the senses, such as taste or smell, that it makes you feel sick or want to turn away.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a disgusting smell, the smell is disgusting.
The milk had gone off and smelled disgusting.
The sink was full of disgusting leftover food.
Nobody wanted to drink the disgusting brown water.
adjectivecomparabledisapproving
Behavior or an idea that seems so shameful or unfair that it makes you feel strong disapproval.
Grammar: Often a strong judgment: it is disgusting that they ignored the problem.
Patterns
- it is disgusting that
- disgusting of someone to do something
It is disgusting that the company dumped waste in the river.
Cheating a customer like that is disgusting behavior.
adjectivecomparableinformal
Used informally as a general word of strong dislike for something of poor quality.
Grammar: Casual emphasis, often about food or weather.
The weather today is disgusting.
That cafeteria pasta was disgusting.
Word forms
| comparative | more disgusting |
|---|---|
| superlative | most disgusting |
Common combinations
- smell disgusting
- The rubbish bin smelled disgusting after a week of heat.
- taste disgusting
- The medicine tastes disgusting, but it works.
- absolutely disgusting
- The state of the bathroom was absolutely disgusting.
- disgusting habit
- Biting your nails is a disgusting habit, my aunt says.
- find something disgusting
- Many people find raw oysters disgusting.
Synonyms and how they differ
- revolting
- Revolting is slightly more formal and equally strong, often used for physical things.
- repulsive
- Repulsive suggests something that pushes you away, often because of looks or character.
- gross
- Gross is a casual, often playful word, especially among younger speakers.
- vile
- Vile is stronger and sounds more literary, often describing moral wickedness.
Opposites
Word family
- disgust noun
- a strong feeling of dislike
- disgust verb
- to cause that feeling in someone
- disgusted adjective
- feeling disgust
- disgustingly adverb
- in a disgusting way
Commonly confused: disgusting or disgusted?
disgusting vs disgusted
Disgusted describes the person who feels it; disgusting describes the thing that causes the feeling.
Practice
She was ___ by the smell coming from the fridge.
Choose one answer.
The person feeling the reaction is disgusted. 'Disgusting' would describe the smell itself.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “disgusting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.