aversive
|a-ver-sive|
🇺🇸
/əˈvɝsɪv/
🇬🇧
/əˈvɜːsɪv/
cause to turn away / produce avoidance
Etymology
'aversive' originates from Latin, specifically from the past participle 'aversus' of the verb 'avertere,' where 'ab-/a-' (from 'ad-') meant 'to' and 'vertere' meant 'to turn.'
'aversus' passed into Medieval/Neo-Latin and contributed to the English adjective 'averse' (meaning 'turned away' or 'having a strong dislike'), and the productive suffix '-ive' was added in modern English to form 'aversive.'
Initially it meant 'turned away' or 'having been turned away' (literal sense of turning), but over time it evolved to mean 'causing avoidance or dislike' and is used especially to describe unpleasant stimuli or qualities.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
an aversive (often in behavioral psychology) is an unpleasant stimulus or event used to produce avoidance or discourage a response.
The experiment used a loud noise as an aversive to discourage the behavior.
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Adjective 1
causing aversion or avoidance; unpleasant, repellent, or tending to make people avoid something (often used in psychology to describe stimuli that elicit avoidance).
The aversive odor made everyone leave the room.
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Last updated: 2025/12/01 20:20