noun🔥 Gen-Z slang

ick

a sudden turn-off about someone

What it means

A sudden, often irrational wave of disgust or turn-off toward someone you were attracted to, triggered by a small habit or moment. Once you 'catch the ick,' the attraction is usually hard to recover.

Examples

  • He chased the bus and I instantly caught the ick.
  • Watching him struggle to parallel park gave me the ick.
  • The way he says 'no worries' gives me the ick.
  • She got the ick the moment he tripped on the curb.

Where it comes from

The interjection 'ick' for disgust is old, but the dating-specific 'the ick' surged around 2020, popularized by the UK show 'Love Island' and then countless TikToks listing oddly specific turn-offs.

Related slang

#cringe#sus#ghosting#red flag

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