2 syllables: dis, gust. Stress on dis.
/ˈdɪsɡʌst/
Say it backDisgust is a strong, negative feeling of revulsion or profound disapproval, often triggered by something offensive or distasteful. As a word, it can describe the feeling itself or be used as an action (“to disgust”) that makes someone feel that revulsion. The term combines a sense of moral or sensory aversion with a social judgment.
"Her disgust was obvious when she saw the moldy fruit."
"The scene in the film was designed to disgust the audience."
"A gust of wind brought a wave of disgust from the crowd."
Disgust is pronounced with three phonemes in the onset cluster /dɪs-/ followed by the stressed syllable /ˈɡʌst/. The full pronunciation is /dɪsˈɡʌst/. The stress is on the second syllable: dis-GUST. The initial /d/ is voiced, the /ɪ/ is a short lax vowel, /s/ is voiceless, /ɡ/ is a hard g, and the final /ʌst/ sounds like “gust” without any extra vowel after the /t/. Mouth position: keep the tongue at the alveolar ridge for the /d/ and /s/, lift the body of the tongue slightly for /ɡ/ and drop into /ʌ/ for the stressed syllable.”,
Common mistakes: 1) Misplacing the stress (say dis-GUST instead of DISGUST with wrong emphasis). 2) Slurring /dɪs/ into a single syllable or rushing the /ˈɡʌst/ part, making it sound like “dist” or “dizgust.” 3) Mispronouncing the /ʌ/ as /ɒ/ or /ə/ in accents where vowel quality shifts. Correction: clearly separate /dɪs/ from /ˈɡʌst/, keep the /ɡ/ hard, and use a stable short /ɪ/ before the /s/ to avoid a merged onset. Practice precise ventilation for the final /t/ with a crisp stop.”,
In US/UK/AU, the main difference centers on the vowel in the stressed /ʌ/ and the rhoticity. US uses rhotic pronunciation but varies: /dɪsˈɡʌst/. UK tends to maintain non-rhoticity and a similar /ʌ/ sound; AU mirrors US in most contexts but can be more centralized in some regions. The big practical change is that the /ɪ/ in the first syllable can be pronounced as a short /ɪ/ or a lax /ɪ/ and the /t/ can be unreleased or tapped in casual speech; the key is keeping stress on the second syllable with a crisp /t/. Overall, target /dɪsˈɡʌst/ with slight regional vowel shifts.”,
The difficulty lies in the stress shift and the vowel quality in the stressed syllable. The /ɡʌ/ vowel can be tricky because some speakers default to /ɡə/ or /ɡɜː/ under fast speech; keeping a clear, centralized /ʌ/ as in “cup” is crucial. The cluster /dɪs/ requires precise release and timing before the /ˈɡʌst/. Also, the final /t/ can be unreleased in rapid speech, reducing clarity. Focus on articulating the /d/ and /s/ distinctly, then deliver the strong /ɡʌst/ with a clean stop.”,
Does ‘disgust’ have a silent letter issue? No. The word has a standard pronunciation: the consonant cluster /dɪs-/ and the stressed /ɡʌst/ with a normal /t/. The only subtlety is ensuring the /s/ and /ɡ/ do not merge in fast speech and that the vowel in the stressed syllable remains distinct from other weak vowels in connected speech. Also, the final /t/ may be unreleased in casual speech, but in careful speech you’ll hear a crisp /t/.
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Disgust comes from the Middle French desgoûter, meaning to ‘offend the taste’ or to cause nausea, which itself derives from des- (a negative prefix) and goût ‘taste’ (from Latin gustus ‘taste’). In English, the form appeared in the 16th century, originally relating to physical nausea or repulsive sensory reaction, later broadening to moral and emotional revulsion. By the 18th and 19th centuries, disgust extended to metaphorical senses—disgust at behavior or ideas—and remained stable in both noun and verb forms. The root goût informs several related words across Romance languages (gusto, gustatory) and persists in modern use as a core descriptor of aversion and discomfort in social, literary, and scientific contexts.
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Words that rhyme with "disgust"
-ust sounds
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