bleah
English
Etymology
Possibly connected with Proto-Slavic *bľьvati (“to vomit”) (Russian блева́ть (blevátʹ), Old Church Slavonic бльвати (blĭvati)), Ancient Greek φλύω (phlúō, “I'm spouting”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlou-, *bʰleu-
Pronunciation
Audio (AU): (file)
Interjection
bleah
- (slang, US) Expresses negative feeling. The quality of the emotion expressed is more negative than that of blah and has a slight feeling of disgust, verging on nausea.
- You bought that green station wagon? Bleah!
- 2005, William Safire, The Ick Factor (in The New York Times, 25 September 2005)
- Reviewing my list of ickisms - yuck, yecch, bleah, ew and ick - the linguist [David McNeill] observes, "Negative words having to do with disgust seem to be embodied in the experience of expelling unwanted, possibly poisonous, materials from the mouth. […]