Why these words make your skin crawl—even if you don’t know why

Some words are perfectly harmless—until you hear them. Then your whole body clenches.

There’s no formula for why certain words make our skin crawl. Sometimes they’re overused. Sometimes they’re just... too much. So we asked our Facebook community: What’s a word that makes your skin crawl for no logical reason?

More than 8,500 people responded—with passionate, hilarious, and oddly specific answers.

Here are some of the most viscerally hated words in the English language—and what they reveal about how language hits us in the gut.

“Panties” wins the cringe crown

No word was more widely despised than this one.

“Panties. Let’s just call it underwear.” — Annie C.
“Panties. I absolutely hate that word. I physically cringe every time I hear it.” — Anna B.

Closely related offenders? Titties, lover, and mommy pooch—all of which showed up again and again in the comments.

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Baby talk backlash

A surprising number of responses took aim at cutesy relationship and family terms. Hubby, wifey, kiddos, and fur babies got dragged—hard.

“I cannot abide people referring to their pets as ‘fur babies.’ It sounds absolutely pathetic.” — Joy S.
“‘Littles’ to describe children. It drives me crazy!” — Marcia H.
“Hubby is a castrated sort of word.” — Joy S.

Other terms like doggo, pupper, and babymama didn’t fare much better.

Grammar gripes and mispronunciation rage

Some folks just needed to vent. If you’ve ever flinched at someone saying “libary” instead of “library,” you’re not alone.

“When people say ‘I seen it’—you mean, you saw it?” — Mendy B.
“Supposably. For so many reasons.” — Patty G.
“Irregardless. I was told there is no such word. It is regardless.” — Bernice C.
“Mischievous when pronounced (incorrectly) mis-CHEEV-ee-us. It’s MIS-chi-vus. Three syllables, not four!!” — Joyce G. H.

Also on the hit list: expresso, libary, and nucular.

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Overly precious and trying way too hard

Some phrases weren’t incorrect—just deeply annoying.

“Stinkin’ cute and easy peasy lemon squeezey.” — Pam M.
“Cool beans, awesome sauce, amazeballs.” — Gina D.
“‘Enjoy’ as a stand-alone imperative. Just being told to enjoy annoys me.” — Suzanne E.

Honorable mentions: yummy, delish, tummy, gorg, and sammich.

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Words that just feel gross

Some words hit a nerve because of how they sound. No logic. Just ick.

“Phlegm 🤢” — Sally N.
“Ointment, oily…” — Julie G. C.
“Diarrhea.” — Colleen L.
“Moist.” — Bev H. (and about 500 others)

A lot of people admitted they couldn’t explain their disgust—it was just a full-body no.

Everyday pet peeves and regional quirks

Other responses focused on phrases that grated for cultural, regional, or just plain habitual reasons.

“Do what now? Or ‘do what’? I absolutely can’t stand it!” — Alina S.
“‘AnywayS.’ It has become so commonplace, and I cringe each time I hear it.” — Carolyn T.
“‘We are pregnant.’ We may be having a baby, but we both aren’t pregnant.” — Sherry B. G.

Plenty of folks also had strong feelings about like, um, and literally—especially when used (or abused) for filler.

Language is personal. And sometimes, irrational.

There’s no rulebook for what makes a word unbearable. It might be baby talk. It might be grammar. Or it might just feel… wrong. But as this list proves, we all have words that trigger something deep and squirmy.

Just don’t say panties.