3 syllables: Dis, gus, ting. Stress on gus.
dis-GUHS-ting
/dɪˈsɡʌstɪŋ/
Disgusting is pronounced dis-GUHS-ting (/dɪˈsɡʌstɪŋ/). It has three syllables (Dis-gus-ting), with the stress on "gus". Disgusting is an adjective describing something that evokes strong aversion or revulsion, often due to unpleasant smells, sights, or behavior. It conveys a high degree of disgust and can be applied to people, objects, or actions. In everyday speech it also functions as a mild intensifier of negative attitude toward the subject.
adjectiveDisgusting is an adjective describing something that evokes strong aversion or revulsion, often due to unpleasant smells, sights, or behavior. It conveys a high degree of disgust and can be applied to people, objects, or actions. In everyday speech it also functions as a mild intensifier of negative attitude toward the subject.
How to Pronounce Disgusting
"The rotten garbage was so disgusting that I had to leave the room."
"Her behavior at the party was disgusting and completely inappropriate."
"That moldy cheese has a disgusting smell that makes me wrinkle my nose."
Pronounce as /dɪsˈɡʌstɪŋ/ (US/UK/AU share the same core). Start with /dɪs/ (the /d/ is a quick alveolar stop, /ɪ/ as in toolkit, then /s/). The second syllable carries primary stress: /ˈɡʌs/ with /ɡ/ as a hard, brief stop and /ʌ/ as the short Ʌ vowel. End with /tɪŋ/ where /t/ is light and /ɪŋ/ forms the velar nasal. In connected speech, the /s/ can be slightly retracted into a cluster with the following /ɡ/. Audio reference: listen for the strong stress on the second syllable and crisp /tɪŋ/.
Common errors include misplacing stress (saying dis-GUS-ting) and slurring the /ɡ/ into /d/ or /ʒ/, or mispronouncing the /ʌ/ as /æ/ or /ɜ/. Another frequent problem is prolonging the /ɪŋ/ or dropping the final consonant, giving /dɪsˈɡʌs.tɪ/ or /dɪsˈɡʌstn/. Correction tips: 1) ensure secondary syllables unassertive but clearly voiced, 2) clamp the /ɡ/ with a quick closure and release, 3) keep the final /ŋ/ nasal without voicing ambiguity.
US/UK/AU share /dɪsˈɡʌstɪŋ/ in broad terms, but differences appear in vowel quality and rhotics. US often has a slightly more centralized /ɪ/ and darker /ɡ/ release; UK tends toward crisper /t/ release and non-rhoticity in some dialects, though /ˈɡʌst/ remains clear. Australian may reduce vowel height in /ɪ/ and /ʌ/ slightly and have a more lenient /t/ in rapid speech. Overall, stress remains on the second syllable; the r-colored influence is minimal in UK/AU but may appear subtly in some US varieties.
The difficulty lies in the consonant cluster /dɪs-ɡʌst-ɪŋ/, especially articulating the /ɡ/ immediately before a nasal /ŋ/ and transitioning from the alveolar /s/ to velar /ɡ/. The mid- central /ʌ/ vowel is tricky for learners who are used to more front vowels, and the final /ŋ/ requires velar-nasal coordination with the preceding /t/. Mastery comes from crisp place-of-articulation changes and consistent stress on the second syllable.
Disgusting uniquely combines a fronted /d/ onset, a mid central/low /ʌ/ in the stressed syllable, and a clean /t/ before the nasal /ŋ/ that ends the word. A key challenge is ensuring a short, strong /ɡ/ release followed immediately by a nasal /tɪŋ/ sequence without a velar blend that muddies the /t/ or softens the /ɡ/. Focus on keeping the /ɡ/ crisp and the /t/ clearly released.
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Disgusting derives from the verb disgust, which originates from the Latin disgustus, past participle of disgustare, meaning to disgust, to feel repelled. The Latin disgustare combines dis- (apart, away) with gustus (taste, flavor), literally “to drive away the taste” or “to be disgusted.” The sense evolved in Middle English from “to cause a loathing” to describe things that provoke revulsion. The noun disgust appears in the 14th century, while the adjective form, meaning “causing disgust,” emerges in the early modern period as English syntax and affixation expanded. Through centuries of moral and aesthetic judgments, disgust broadened from a physical revulsion to social and ethical condemnation, culminating in contemporary usage where it characterizes intense negative reactions to stimuli, behavior, or ideas. First known use as an adjective in print traces to early modern English writings, with increasing frequency by the 16th–18th centuries as literature and philosophy explored disgust as a psychological and cultural phenomenon.
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Words that rhyme with "Disgusting"
-ing sounds
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