Synonyms

aversion therapy

British

noun

psychiatry a method of suppressing an undesirable habit, such as excessive smoking, by causing the subject to associate an unpleasant effect, such as an electric shock or nausea, with the habit

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

About 15 years ago, Australian scientists designed a kind of aversion therapy.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 11, 2023

But mostly this struck me as the sort of spot you might encounter in aversion therapy.

From Slate • Feb. 3, 2020

Burgs tells me his silent retreats and meditation courses are a form of aversion therapy, whereby people can confront their fear of doing nothing until it eventually dissipates.

From The Guardian • Dec. 27, 2019

Queen's has expressed regret for the use of such aversion therapy.

From BBC • Oct. 24, 2019

A spokesperson for Queen's University Belfast said that, regrettably, aversion therapy was used in a number of situations in the past.

From BBC • Sep. 30, 2019

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023