February 10, 2026
A sudden, visceral feeling of repulsion or cringe toward another person.

"The ick" is a feeling of sudden cringe or repulsion toward someone you were previously attracted to. It is usually triggered by something very small or specific, like the way someone eats or a particular pair of shoes they wear. Once you get the ick, it is almost impossible to get rid of. For parents, this is a useful term to understand when your child suddenly loses interest in a crush for seemingly no significant reason at all.
We've compiled this dictionary of common teen slang to help parents communicate with their kids. SafetyMode is the world's most advanced parental safety app for phones, making any Android phone safe for kids. You can find out more and download the app just here.





“I felt that the safety features were really suitable for me to be able to support my child whilst using the phone. It was good that I was able to manage these.”
Jane – Mum of 11 year old
“He couldn't access restricted material and it wasn't even coming up for him due to the settings. It gave me a peace of mind as I can't police him all the time with the phone.”
Tom – Dad of 13 year old