aversive

IPA/əˈvɜː.sɪv/
IPA/əˈvɝː.sɪv/

aversive — adjective

  • aversivepositive
  • more aversivecomparative
  • most aversivesuperlative

1. making you feel a strong wish to stay away from a person, thing, or situation be

1.形容詞C1
釋義

making you feel a strong wish to stay away from a person, thing, or situation because you strongly dislike or disapprove of it.

例句

The bitter medicine had such an aversive taste that Eri could not swallow it.

collocation: aversive taste / aversive smell

Amani finds the smell of rotting food deeply aversive and always leaves the kitchen quickly.

adverb modifier: deeply aversive

同義詞
  • repellent

    stronger emphasis on driving someone away; tends to be used for physical sensations or substances

  • off-putting

    informal, everyday alternative; less intense than aversive

  • distasteful

    focuses on personal moral or aesthetic disapproval rather than a desire to flee

反義詞
  • appealing

    opposite: something that attracts or pleases

  • attractive

    opposite: draws someone toward it instead of repelling them

文法句型

aversive to + noun / noun phrase

用法筆記

This sense is common in academic and formal writing. In everyday conversation, native speakers more often use 'disgusting', 'horrible', or 'unpleasant' — the noun form 'aversion' (a strong dislike) is far more frequent than the adjective 'aversive'.

常見錯誤

❌I feel aversive about spicy food.
✅I have an aversion to spicy food.
💡'aversive' describes the thing that causes dislike, not the person feeling it.

2. describing a training or treatment method that uses an unpleasant experience on

2.形容詞C2
釋義

describing a training or treatment method that uses an unpleasant experience on purpose to stop a person or animal from doing a particular unwanted behavior.

例句

The dog trainer used aversive conditioning to stop the puppy from biting visitors.

psychology term: aversive conditioning

Some psychologists argue that aversive therapy should only be tried when gentler methods have failed.

psychology term: aversive therapy

同義詞
  • punitive

    focuses on punishment as a response rather than on behavior change; broader in scope

  • deterrent

    can be a noun or adjective; emphasises preventing an action before it happens, not stopping it after it starts

反義詞
  • rewarding

    opposite approach that uses pleasant outcomes to encourage behavior

  • reinforcing

    opposite: strengthens a behavior rather than suppressing it

文法句型

aversive conditioning

aversive therapy

aversive stimulus / stimuli

用法筆記

Nearly always appears directly before the noun it modifies: 'aversive conditioning', 'aversive therapy', 'aversive stimulus'. Outside of psychology and animal-training contexts, use sense 1 instead of this technical sense.

常見錯誤

❌The dog was given aversive for barking.
✅The trainer used aversive conditioning to control the dog's barking.
💡'aversive' is an adjective, not a noun; the noun form is 'aversive stimulus' or 'aversive' (as a technical noun only in psychology jargon).