Visual beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But what about auditory beauty? It’s in the ear of the listener?
Certain sounds are just not beautiful. In fact, certain sounds strike so in our ears that they make us physically cringe (screeching tires, chalk on board). Screeching tires are a sound on whose ugliness all humans (and animals) would agree. But what of words?
There are certain English words that most English speakers claim to have found ugly. Whether the reason is the word’s sound, spelling, or just how hard it is to pronounce, we have compiled a list of the top 10 ugliest English words. They are not listed in any order, so feel free to decide which ones you hate the most.
Unpleasant English Words
A very helpful list of words to avoid…
Turgid
Meaning: a) swollen, congested b) pompous, inflated, complicated
Maybe it is the placement of the consonants ‘r’ and ‘g’ beside themselves or just the way it sounds overall, but this word ruins all beauty in any sentence it is used.
The scene was of the colorful sunset, shading the turgid water golden.
One gets the image of the sunset barely being able to shade a gutter, not at all the serene river implied.
Pus
Meaning: liquid produced in infected tissue made up of dead white blood cells and tissue debris.
When spoken, this simple, innocent-looking three-letter word feels like inhaling the very liquid it signifies. Yuks.
Whoever named the gross liquid inside boils and wounds knew exactly what they were doing. A more unpleasant word for such an unpleasant substance could hardly have been invented.
Regurgitate
Meaning: bring swallowed food again into the mouth; to vomit
Is it an unspeakable crime or filthy sewage process that comes to mind when you hear REGURGITATE? Because it can’t be anything else. One is bound to regurgitate their previous meal after having spoken the word regurgitate.
It’s the ‘gurg’ combined with the ‘tate’ that makes the word so abominable, or maybe it’s just the harshness of the sound it produces.
Sliver
Meaning: a tiny piece, usually broken off from something larger
Try saying Sliver without feeling your tongue slither like a snake. Every time I type sliver, I get the urge to edit the seemingly misspelt silver.
In fact, many ‘sl’ starting words are considered ugly. Take slush, for example. Or slop.
A sliver of the moon or the silver moon?
Sanctum sanctorum
Meaning: the holy of holies in the Jewish temple
The sanctity of the name does not signify. The comical repetition and the eerie resemblance to words like rectum and scrotum only increases our frustration with sanctum sanctorum.
Porridge
Meaning: A meal of oats, cereal, or other boiled in water or milk.
Porridge has a horrid element in it. The sound of it itself tells one it’s not going to taste good. It is essentially the double ‘r’ sound mixed in with the ‘po’ of pour. It is beyond understanding why something edible would ever be named porridge.
Juxtaposition
Meaning: A situation where two or more things are placed together to compare or highlight something.
Saying this word out loud is like an open confession to being pretentious. The word sounds “torpid”, let alone the look of it.
Moist
Meaning: damp; slightly wet
Moist ranks among the most hated words in English. Something about its look and sound gives people the creeps. Granted, some of the aversion may very well have been caused by its uncomfortable meaning.
If you’re a rare person who does not understand the hate of moist, think damp socks. That’s the feeling.
Curdled
Meaning: (of a liquid) to turn sour; to fragment into pieces.
Do you, too, feel your stomach involuntarily curl when thinking of the word curdle? Because ours sure does.
Maybe it’s just the mixture of two ideas: curd and curl. Somehow, the combination is cringeworthy. Think: curdled look.
Corny
Meaning: basic; too ordinary to be interesting or amusing
If something is too corny, it’s the word corny. Something to wonder: is the word corny meant as an insult to corn? Corn isn’t basic!
Corny sounds like a word created by a toddler. Not a real word, just a funny anecdote to recount later. Did I tell you the corny story?
What makes them so ugly?
Well, it’s hard to say precisely why these (and more) words are considered an abomination to language aesthetics besides the fact that they just feel wrong. Technically, there is nothing wrong with them (except for words like queue, which has no reason at all for the last four of its letters).
It all really comes down to the specific sounds that resonate with our brain nerves. We hear because the auditory nerves in our ears pass on sound vibrations to the brain after converting them into electrical impulses. Some resonate well with the brain, others don’t. Much of it also depends on various factors. Like the meaning we associate with the word, its history and how the letters are placed phonetically.
Those who understand human sensibilities in terms of beauty and art best are the poets and writers. Have you ever read something so spectacularly written that you felt you needed to read it several times to soak up its magnificence? Well, such writers know the beauty of words and how to phrase them. Comes naturally to some, some master it.
Writers and poets like Fernando Pessoa, William Blake, and Lord Byron are especially known for the aesthetic beauty of their writing. To give the minutest of examples, it’s just the difference between I do not like it and I like it not.
Conclusion
English is a funny language. I use it right now to communicate as does most of humanity, and yet certain words and rules of English make us look at its various oddities. It would have been impossible to create only beautiful words because even in a language full of the best words, there’d still be the one that is the least beautiful and is called ugly. In this article, we pointed out to you the 10 ugliest English words according to us; comment below and let us know which English you find abhorrent. Keep reading, keep knowing!
