See Also:

aversion (iou) and ful (iou)


aversion (iou)



aversion noun. L16.
[French, or Latin aversio(n-), formed as AVERSE: see -ION.]
The action of turning away oneself, one's eyes, etc. Long rare. L16.
T. Berger He might turn no female heads, but neither would he cause the aversion of faces.
A mental attitude of opposition or repugnance; a habitual dislike; antipathy, unwillingness. (Foll. by to, from, for, towards, against.) E17.
Bacon His aversion towards the house of York. Addison An unconquerable aversion which some stomachs have against a joint of meat. R. L. Stevenson She had conceived at first sight a great aversion for the present writer, which she was at no pains to conceal. H. A. L. Fisher Charles had married, and on grounds of personal aversion divorced, the daughter of the Lombard king. J. Galsworthy Her aversion from him who had owned her body, but had never touched her spirit or her heart. W. S. Churchill The Tories regarded with aversion the sending of large armies to the Continent. K. A. Porter He had a moral aversion to poverty, an instinctive contempt and distrust of the swarming poor.
An object of dislike or repugnance. L17.
M. Twain For years my pet aversion had been the cuckoo clock.
Comb.: aversion therapy behaviour therapy designed to cause the patient to give up an undesirable habit by associating it with an unpleasant effect.

ful (iou)



-ful suffix.
[from FULL adjective.]
Forming adjectives. Orig. used in composition with a preceding noun to form adjectives with the sense 'full of or having,' as beautiful, graceful, or, in the 14th cent., with the sense 'having the qualities of' as masterful, powerful. Later, in the 16th and 17th cents., forming adjectives from adjectives or Latin adjective stems with little change of meaning, as direful, grateful (perh. by analogy with older synonyms in -ful). In mod. English forming adjectives from verb-stems with the sense 'apt to, able to, accustomed to,' as forgetful, mournful, or occas. with passive force, as bashful.
Forming nouns (pl. -fuls, occas. -sful) with the sense 'the amount that fills or would fill (a receptacle),' as handful, mouthful, spoonful.