Disgust is a type of aversive reaction that involves withdrawing from a person or object with strong expressions of revulsion whether real or pretended. Another definition of disgust can be defined as a revulsion response towards potential contamination . Disgust can be described as a universal, basic emotion that functions to help protect an organism from ingesting potentially harmful substances, thereby promoting disease avoidance. It is one of the  basic emotions and is typically associated with things that are regarded as unclean, inedible, infectious, gory or otherwise offensive. In The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, Charles Darwin wrote that disgust refers to something revolting. Disgust is experienced primarily in relation to the sense of taste (either perceived or imagined), and secondarily to anything which causes a similar feeling by sense of smell, touch, or vision. Musically sensitive people may even be disgusted by the cacophony of inharmonious sounds. Research continually has proven a relationship between disgust and anxiety disorders such as spider phobia, blood-injection-injury phobia, and contamination fear related obsessive-compulsive disorder(also known as OCD). Fear of contamination, by insects, waste products or any kind of corruption, may inspire disgust. In this case, disgust arises from a process of inference from perceptual experience. For example, the understanding that insects have, in the past, caused pestilence may lead to a present-moment extrapolation that certain other insects, however innocuous, are disgusting because they are causing, or could cause, disease. Disgust is one of the basic emotions of Robert Plutchik's theory of emotions and has been studied extensively by Paul Rozin. It invokes a characteristic facial expression, one of Paul Ekman's six universal facial expressions of emotion. Unlike the emotions of fear, anger, and sadness, disgust is associated with a decrease in heart rate. It is necessary to resist the temptation to universalize in dealing with such complex states of mind and emotions as disgust. People in many professions, such as medical care, police work, fire fighting and the military learn to repress their disgust responses and may even lose the capacity to experience disgust altogether.

Ekel ist die Bezeichnung für die Empfindung einer starken Abneigung in Verbindung mit Widerwillen. Im Gegensatz zu anderen weniger starken Formen der Ablehnung äußert sich Ekel mitunter auch durch starke körperliche Reaktionen wie Übelkeit und Brechreiz, Schweißausbrüche, sinkenden Blutdruck bis hin zur Ohnmacht. Wissenschaftlich gilt Ekel als Affekt, nicht als Instinkt, da er nicht angeboren ist, sondern durch Sozialisation erworben wird.

Le dégoût est le sentiment d'une personne confrontée à ce dont elle n'a pas le goût, et qu'elle rejette même avec une certaine violence comme ayant fait l'objet d'une souillure inacceptable. La notion est particulièrement utilisée dans le domaine de l'alimentation pour désigner des nourritures que le mangeur ne saurait ingérer du fait de raisons socioculturelles.

Äckel är en fysisk känsla av obehag som kan erfaras på varierande sätt för att markera en diffus känsla av att någonting är fel och/eller bör hållas på avstånd. Äckel uppstår inte sällan då man upplever att någonting i ens omgivning inte är vad man själv finner vara moraliskt rätt.

Wstręt to silna emocja, wyrażająca niechęć, odrazę do czegoś, kogoś, jakiejś sytuacji. Czynnik wywołujący wstręt może mieć charakter materialny (np. szczur, ścieki, kał, padlina) lub abstrakcyjny (brzydzę się kradzieżą).