🃏 Why Do We Call Something “Disgusting”?

 

We often hear people describe something that goes beyond dirty, filthy, or barbaric with the word disgusting. According to the Indonesian Dictionary, jijik (disgust) is defined as a feeling of dislike, nausea, or rejection that arises when seeing or experiencing something dirty, vile, or unpleasant. But is disgust purely personal, or does it have certain boundaries?

🧩 1. The Personal Dimension

Disgust is often rooted in sensory experience and can be highly subjective.

• Example: One person may feel disgusted by cockroaches, while another can handle them without issue.
• Meaning: This shows that disgust can be personal, shaped by individual experiences, cultural background, or even biological sensitivity (like a strong sense of smell or a tendency to feel nauseous).

🌍 2. The Social Dimension

At the same time, there are things that are broadly considered disgusting because they cross collective standards of cleanliness or morality.

• Example: Rotten food, foul-smelling garbage, or cruel acts of violence.
• Meaning: In these cases, disgust is not just a personal reaction but a shared response shaped by social norms, cultural values, and ethical boundaries.

🔄 Reflection

Disgust lies at the intersection of personal and universal:

• Personal → because each individual has different thresholds of tolerance.
• Universal → because societies establish standards of what is dirty, vile, or unacceptable.

Thus, calling something disgusting is not only about individual feelings but also about crossing boundaries of cleanliness or morality that are collectively recognized.

1. Disgust Triggered by Bodily Metabolism or Hormones

Sometimes disgust arises as a biological reaction influenced by the body’s internal state.

• Example: A pregnant woman may feel disgusted by certain smells or sights. This response is not necessarily about the object itself but about hormonal and metabolic changes during pregnancy.
• Meaning: Disgust here is a temporary, physiological response shaped by the body’s condition, showing how deeply biology can influence perception.

2. Disgust Triggered by Hatred, Events, or Trauma

Disgust can also emerge from emotional or psychological experiences.

• Example: Someone who has been hurt by a lover may later feel disgust toward that person, not because of physical dirtiness but because of the painful memory attached to them.
• Meaning: In this case, disgust is a psychological rejection, rooted in trauma, resentment, or emotional wounds. It shows that disgust can extend beyond sensory reactions into the realm of memory and meaning. to understand and recognize, comprehend, our own self-awareness. Who are we really that we feel disgusted by others, how noble are we as servants of God? Do we know the essence and existence of the Dzat of God, the owner of the universe? Does God ask you to give a reason for being disgusted by something that God hates? If so, perhaps this needs to be asked directly to God (Do You Have Prestige and Dignity? April 18, 2026); (Can We Be Arrogant? April 20, 2026); (Why Is It Called Trauma As The Secret of Human Life and Death? May 08, 2026). 

🔄 Reflection

So, disgust is not only about dirt or filth. It can be:

• Biological → arising from bodily states like hormones or metabolism.
• Psychological → arising from emotional wounds, hatred, or traumatic events.

This duality makes disgust a powerful human response, bridging the physical and the emotional.

🌐Disgust Across Languages

1. Arabic – مقزز (muqziz)

The Arabic word muqziz conveys the sense of something repulsive or disgusting. Interestingly, it resonates with other Arabic roots like ʿajaza (عجز, meaning weakness or inability), from which iʿjāz (إعجاز, miracle) is derived—something that overwhelms or renders one powerless.

• Contrast: While muqziz signals rejection and repulsion, iʿjāz signals awe and incapacity.
• Cultural Note: Terms like muʿadhdhin (مؤذن, the one who calls to prayer) or muzakki (مُزكّي, the one who purifies through zakat) show how Arabic often ties moral or spiritual acts to bodily or social responses. The tension arises when purification or calling is perceived as coercive, potentially lowering dignity if misused or false calls, trapping, misleading, and even leading people astray so that they fall together into the valley of error (Why Do We Like To Spend So Much Time Bragging? April 29, 2026).

2. Greek – αηδιαστικός (aidiastikós)

In Greek, aidiastikós directly means “disgusting.” Yet, philosophically, it can be linked to the idea of purification and choice.

• Interpretation: The act of cleansing (katharsis) is often seen as a personal decision, tied to one’s will and the eventual grace of God.
• Reflection: Disgust here is not only about sensory rejection but also about the recognition of what is unclean versus what is sacred, depending on one’s values and perception.

In Greek, aidiastikós means “disgusting.” But beyond its literal sense, it can be tied to the tension between help and suspicion.

• Interpretation: When someone seeks to purify (katharsis) or help others toward cleanliness and sanctity, their intention may be genuine. Yet, paradoxically, such acts can be misinterpreted as misleading or driven by selfish desire (hēdonē, pleasure, or epithymia, lust).
• Reflection: This highlights a cultural-philosophical dilemma: the one who offers help may be accused of manipulation, while the one who refuses purification may be seen as following mere appetite. Disgust, then, becomes not only a sensory rejection but also a social suspicion—a judgment about motives (Why Do We Admire and Appreciate Aesthetic March 31, 2026).

3. Latin – taeterrimus

In Latin, taeterrimus is a superlative adjective meaning “most foul, most repulsive.” It shares resonance with aterrimus (very black, pitch-dark), often used in taxonomy to describe extreme darkness.

• Connection: Darkness and foulness are metaphorically linked—what is hidden, opaque, or morally corrupt is often described as “black” or “repulsive.”
• Cultural Note: Theatricality (theatrum, from Greek theatron, “place of seeing”) shows how disgust can also be dramatized, exaggerated, and performed socially (Why Do We Like to Dramatize Life? April 12, 2026).

🔄 Reflection

Across languages, disgust is not merely a sensory reaction. It is:

• Arabic → tied to weakness, awe, and moral purification.
• Greek → tied to choice, sanctity, and divine grace.
• Latin → tied to foulness, darkness, and dramatization.

Thus, disgust becomes a multidimensional concept: physical, moral, spiritual, and performative.

🛡️ Editorial Note / Disclaimer

• This article is a reflective exploration of the concept of disgust (jijik)—examining its biological, psychological, and social dimensions. It blends linguistic meaning, cultural interpretation, and philosophical reflection.
• It is not intended as medical advice, psychological counseling, or doctrinal guidance, but rather as a contemplative discussion of how humans experience and label disgust in different contexts.
• Readers are encouraged to approach this piece as a philosophical reflection and cultural commentary, not as a prescriptive or scientific manual.
• This section is a linguistic and cultural reflection. It does not aim to prescribe religious or moral doctrine, but to explore how different languages frame the human experience of disgust.