The Real Reason You Hate The Word Moist Is As Gross As You’d Imagine

It is a truth universally acknowledged that everyone hates the word moist – and there’s actual evidence to back that up, with 2013 being the year it was officially crowned the word’s most hated word.

But what exactly is it about that seemingly innocent adjective that gets us all squeamish?

Well according to professor Oberlin Paul Thibodeau, the author of a study on our aversion to the word moist, its all to do with its association to, er, other bodily functions.

The study found that up to 20% of peeps hate the word, and of those 20%, many found it most disturbing when it was teamed with sexual words, with one study participant saying “It reminds people of sex and vaginas.”

While we don’t have a problem with either of those things, we do see how a word that’s often used to describe baked goods, doesn’t sound so good when it’s also used to describe sweaty gym gear and, er, that wet patch on your bedsheets. #Vom.

Like this? The Everyday Words And Phrases You’ve Been Pronouncing All Wrong 

On the flip side though, according to professor Oberlin Paul Thibodeau, many peeps just hate it because everyone else seems to.

“People may report an aversion to ‘moist’ because they are conforming to a social norm and/or because, after careful thought, it seems to have phonological properties or semantic associations that make it unpleasant,” he explains.

So whether you actually hate it or you’re just playing along, can we all just agree that from here on in the word moist shall only be used when describing a delicious and gooey double chocolate brownie?