distasteful

English

Alternative forms

• distastefull (archaic)

Etymology

From distaste +‎ -ful or dis- +‎ tasteful.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪsˈteɪstfəɫ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪstfəl

Adjective

distasteful (comparative more distasteful, superlative most distasteful)

1. Having a bad or foul taste.

   Near-synonym: unpalatable

   The food had very distasteful flavour.

2. (figuratively) Unpleasant.

   Near-synonym: unpalatable

   Scrubbing the floors was a distasteful duty to perform.

   • 1642, Thomas Fuller, “The Good Herald”, in The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], →OCLC, book II, paragraph 2, page 142:

     He imbitters not a diſtaſtfull meſſage to a forrein Prince by his indiſcretion in delivering it.

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXIV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, pages 198–199:

     All this was extraordinarily distasteful to Churchill. It was ugly, gross. […] Never before had he felt such repulsion when the vicar displayed his characteristic bluntness or coarseness of speech. In the present connection—or rather as a transition from the subject that had started their conversation—such talk had been distressingly out of place.

3. Offensive.

   distasteful language

   • 1987 December 27, Kenneth J. Trask, “Stop Crossing Your Legs, Governor”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 24, page 5:

     AIDS is primarily a sexually transmitted disease and to not focus on the documented routes of transmission — however distasteful they may be to some legislators — is an ineffective and bigoted means of education by any standards.

Antonyms

• pleasant, pleasing

Derived terms

• distastefully
• distastefulness
• undistasteful

Related terms

• bad taste in one's mouth
• untasteful

Translations

having a bad or foul taste

Bashkir: тәмһеҙ (təmheź) Bulgarian: отвратителен (bg) (otvratitelen) Chinese: Mandarin: please add this translation if you can Danish: ulækker, ækel (da), væmmelig Finnish: pahanmakuinen (fi), vastenmielinen (fi) German: geschmacklos (de), widerwärtig (de) Manx: meevlaystal Maori: pāhare, matakawa, kūtaitai, kōtuhi Polish: niesmaczny (pl) Portuguese: desagradável (pt) Romanian: dezgustător (ro), neplăcut (ro) m Russian: отврати́тельный (ru) (otvratítelʹnyj), неприя́тный (ru) (neprijátnyj) Spanish: de mal gusto Swahili: karaha (sw) Swedish: illasmakande (sv), äcklig (sv)

unpleasant

Bulgarian: неприятен (bg) (neprijaten), противен (bg) (protiven) Chinese: Mandarin: please add this translation if you can Danish: smagløs Finnish: vastenmielinen (fi), epämiellyttävä (fi), mauton (fi) French: désagréable (fr), déplaisant (fr) German: unangenehm (de), widerwärtig (de) Manx: meevianagh, meehaitnyssagh Maori: matakawa Polish: niesmaczny (pl), przykry (pl) Portuguese: desagradável (pt) Romanian: dezagreabil (ro), neplăcut (ro) Russian: неприя́тный (ru) (neprijátnyj), проти́вный (ru) (protívnyj) Spanish: desagradable (es) Swahili: karaha (sw) Swedish: smaklös (sv)

offensive

Bulgarian: отблъскващ (bg) (otblǎskvašt) Chinese: Mandarin: please add this translation if you can Danish: modbydelig, smagløs, afskyelig (da), frastødende Finnish: törkeä (fi), vastenmielinen (fi), loukkaava (fi), mauton (fi) French: de mauvais goût German: anstößig (de) Maori: pūkawa Plautdietsch: wadalich Portuguese: de mau gosto Romanian: ofensator (ro) Russian: оскорби́тельный (ru) (oskorbítelʹnyj) Spanish: chocante, ofensivo (es) Swahili: karaha (sw) Swedish: smaklös (sv), frånstötande (sv), osmaklig (sv)

See also

• disgusting