Definition

Verb: 1. To cause strong feelings of disgust, revulsion, or moral offense; to sicken or nauseate emotionally. This verb describes the action of provoking a deep, visceral feeling of aversion, often related to something considered immoral, disturbing, or physically repulsive.

Usage

The verb "churn up" is used to describe the effect something has on a person's emotions or senses, making them feel deeply unsettled or sickened. It is often used in contexts involving graphic imagery, disturbing news, or morally reprehensible actions. * It is typically used with a direct object (a person or group of people) that experiences the feeling. * The subject causing the feeling is often an event, sight, or idea.

Examples

• The graphic images from the war zone churned up even the most seasoned journalists.
• Hearing the details of the crime churned her up inside.
• The politician's blatant hypocrisy churns me up.

Advanced Usage

• Passive Voice: The feeling is often emphasized when the person experiencing it is the subject of the sentence in a passive construction.
  • I was completely churned up by the documentary on animal cruelty.
• Figurative Use: While it can relate to physical nausea, it is more commonly used for emotional or moral disgust.
  • The thought of such waste while people are starving churns my stomach up. (This idiom incorporates the target verb.)

Variants and Related Words

• Churn (verb): While "churn" alone often refers to agitating liquid (like cream to make butter) or metaphorical agitation ("churning thoughts"), the addition of "up" in "churn up" specifically intensifies the meaning towards causing disgust or sickness.
• Upset (verb): A more general synonym for disturbing someone emotionally.
• Sicken (verb): A direct synonym, meaning to cause disgust or nausea.

Synonyms

• Disgust
• Revolt
• Sicken
• Nauseate
• Repel
• Appall

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Churn out: This is a distinct phrasal verb with a completely different meaning: to produce something in large quantities, often mechanically or without much thought.
  • The factory churns out thousands of toys each day.

Related Idioms

• Churn someone's stomach: This idiom is very close in meaning to "churn up," explicitly linking the emotional feeling to a physical sensation of nausea.
  • The smell from the dumpster churned my stomach.

Verb

1. cause aversion in; offend the moral sense of
   • The pornographic pictures sickened us