visceral
A visceral reaction is an intense emotional response that's hard to hide or explain. You might feel something visceral when you watch a sad movie or hear some really upsetting news.
When we talk about a reaction being visceral, it means it's coming from deep inside us. We often use this word to describe how people react to strong emotions like fear, anger, or sadness. For example, someone might have a visceral response to politics if they feel passionately about an issue. A writer's character might have a visceral reaction to witnessing something traumatic on stage. The key is that the feeling is raw and genuine – it's not just intellectual curiosity or a surface-level emotion.
How common is "visceral"?
It has a balanced usage among all categories: speech, fiction, newspapers and academic texts.
adjective
(anatomy) Of or relating to, made up of, or positioned among or within, the viscera (“internal organs of the body, especially those contained within the abdominal and thoracic cavities”).
Example: visceral remains
Real examples of "visceral" in context
