Definition:
A “trigger word” is a term or phrase that elicits a strong emotional response due to its association with traumatic experiences, sensitive topics, or significant personal meaning.
Etymology:
The term “trigger” in this context comes from the idea of “triggering” a reaction, similar to how pulling the trigger of a gun causes it to fire.
Description:
Trigger words are often used in propaganda. Trigger words play a key role in this process by evoking strong emotions, prompting immediate reactions, or activating pre-existing biases and associations. Trigger words can stir up strong feelings such as fear, anger, pride, or patriotism. These emotions make the message more memorable and impactful, pushing the audience toward a desired reaction without deep analysis.
Trigger words are so effective that even starting a phrase with “trigger warning” can trigger people who tend to look for things to be offended by, making them more upset about the following words, then they would have been without hearing “trigger warning” first.
Types of Trigger Words:
- Trauma-Related Trigger Words: Words that remind individuals of traumatic events (e.g., “abuse,” “assault”).
- Sensitive Topic Trigger Words: Words related to contentious or emotionally charged issues (e.g., “racism,” “misogyny”).
- Personal Trigger Words: Words that have a specific, significant meaning to an individual due to personal experiences (e.g., a specific name or place).
Examples of Trigger Words:
- Anarchy – Suggests lack of order, feared or romanticized.
- Antisemite – Someone who harbors hostility towards Jews; deeply derogatory and historically charged.
- Apostate – Someone who has renounced their religion; can trigger disdain or sympathy.
- Atheist – Someone who does not believe in any gods; may evoke respect or controversy.
- Authority – Indicates power or the right to command, can inspire respect or resistance.
- Betrayal – Implies deep disloyalty, stirs feelings of hurt and distrust.
- Bigotry – Describes intense intolerance, highly derogatory and confrontational.
- Bullying – Implies intimidation or harassment, universally negative.
- Censorship – Implies suppression of speech, triggers concerns about freedom.
- Corruption – Suggests dishonest or fraudulent conduct, strong legal and moral undertones.
- Crisis – Suggests severe, immediate trouble, prompts urgency and fear.
- Discrimination – Implies unfair treatment based on prejudice, highly negative.
- Diversity – Represents variety, often in social contexts, can inspire or polarize.
- Drugs – Refers to substances used for medication or intoxication. Can evoke diverse reactions such as concern, debate over legality and health, or interest in medical benefits.
- Elite – Implies privileged status, often used derogatorily in economic contexts.
- Empowerment – Encourages gaining strength, viewed positively or as politicized.
- Entitlement – Implies undue claim to benefits, often sparks debate.
- Epidemic – Indicates widespread disease, triggers fear and concern.
- Exploitation – Suggests taking unfair advantage, invokes anger or pity.
- Extremist – Indicates radical views, generally negative, stirs alertness.
- Fake News – Discredits information, stirs distrust in media.
- Freedom of Speech – Advocates for expression rights, can rally or polarize.
- Feminism – Represents women’s rights, can be empowering or controversial.
- Freedom – Evokes values of liberty and autonomy, often used politically.
- Freedom Fighter – Can be seen as a hero or a rebel, depending on perspective.
- Genocide – Refers to mass killing based on group identity, extremely grave.
- Greed – Describes excessive desire for more, universally criticized.
- Hack – Suggests unauthorized access or clever solutions, can alarm or impress.
- Hate Speech – Describes speech that offends, threatens, or insults groups, highly contentious.
- Heathen – Often pejoratively refers to someone outside major religions; suggests barbarity or irreligion.
- Hero – Exalts bravery or sacrifice, highly positive connotation.
- Holocaust – References mass murder, profound historical and emotional weight.
- Hypocrisy – Describes saying one thing but doing another, universally negative.
- Infidel – Used to describe a non-believer of one‘s own religion; often derogatory.
- Injustice – Suggests wrongful treatment, evokes anger or call to action.
- Innovation – Implies new, groundbreaking change, can excite or unsettle.
- Invasion – Implies threat, used to describe unwelcome intrusion.
- Islamophobe – Someone with an irrational fear or hatred of Islam and Muslims; often controversial.
- Justice – Implies fairness in treatment, foundational to societal discourse.
- Liberals/Conservatives – Labels political alignment, potentially polarizing.
- Lies – Indicates dishonesty, stirs distrust and skepticism.
- Manipulation – Suggests deceitful influence, generates suspicion.
- Murder – Describes intentional killing, provokes horror and outrage.
- Oppression – Describes severe mistreatment, provokes empathy or activism.
- Patriotism – Evokes national pride, can unify or exclude.
- Poverty – Indicates lack of resources, evokes sympathy or policy discussion.
- Privilege – Highlights social or economic advantages, can cause defensiveness.
- Progress – Implies forward movement or improvement, generally positive.
- Racism – Describes prejudice or discrimination based on race, provokes strong feelings of injustice and calls for social change and awareness.
- Racist – Labels discriminatory behavior, highly inflammatory and accusatory.
- Radical – Implies extreme views, can alarm or energize.
- Refugee – Describes someone fleeing danger, evokes sympathy or controversy.
- Revolution – Connotes major change, inspires or intimidates.
- Rights – Refers to entitlements and freedoms guaranteed by law or society, evokes a sense of justice and the need for protection or advocacy.
- Scandal – Indicates disgraceful behavior, attracts attention, and provokes outrage.
- Security – Promotes feelings of safety, often used to justify policies.
- Survivor – Connotes overcoming adversity, powerful personal identifier.
- Sustainable – Related to environmental health, promotes responsibility or skepticism.
- Terror – Indicates extreme fear, associated with violence and threats.
- Terrorist – Incites fear and hostility, linked to violence and chaos.
- Toxic – Describes harmful environments or behaviors, broadly negative.
- Traitor – Describes someone who betrays trust, extremely negative.
- Trauma – References deep emotional wounds, sensitive and personal.
- Tyranny – Indicates oppressive rule, stirs resistance or fear.
- Victim – Suggests harm or injustice, can evoke sympathy or skepticism.
- Victory – Describes winning, can evoke pride or competitiveness.
- Vulnerable – Suggests susceptibility to harm, evokes protective responses.