hang-up
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.59 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An emotional difficulty or a psychological inhibition, in particular concerning one's sex life.
Informal
noun
An unforeseen obstacle to progress; a hitch or delay.
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonyms: neurosis, obsession, complex"
- "We’re said to have so many hang-ups that we don’t even talk about sex until we’re in the pub, and to need to be blind drunk before anything approaching physical contact occurs."
- "I have hang-ups left over from childhood about my body. My wife sometimes reminds me that, instead of saying, “I want to be thin”, I could say, “I want to be happy”, which is profoundly good advice."
- "As if the overpowering sense of grief wasn’t enough, Munch’s art unashamedly confesses to massive sexual hangups."
- "How can I help my partner get over his hangups? Letting him have sex with other men isn’t working [title]"
- "Near-synonym: setback"