make someone's skin crawl
Cause visceral revulsion
To make someone's skin crawl is to cause intense discomfort, revulsion, or unease—the kind that feels physical, as if something were creeping across the body.
The expression captures visceral disgust or dread: The way he stared at her made her skin crawl.
Just thinking about the infestation makes my skin crawl.
Raised skin from cold
- shiverInvoluntary trembling sensation
- shudderConvulsive trembling from fear
- chillsShivering spells from illness
- spine-tinglingCausing thrilled fear
unsettling · eerie · uncanny · weird · disturbing · off-putting · unnerving · hair-raising
Intense physical disgust
- nauseaPre-vomiting stomach discomfort
- loathingIntense, settled disgust
- sickeningCausing disgust or nausea
- repugnantExtremely distasteful or offensive
gross · vile · foul · revolting · squeamish · stomach-turning · gag · retch
Intense anticipatory fear
- terrorExtreme, overwhelming fear
- frightSudden intense fear
- panicUncontrollable sudden fear
- phobiaPersistent irrational dread
nightmare · menace · threat · haunt · ominous · foreboding · spooked · alarmed
Disturbing, death-obsessed
- ghoulishFascinated by death grotesquely
- gothicDark, mysterious aesthetic
- grotesqueDistorted, bizarre figure
- monstrousFrighteningly huge or wicked
bloodcurdling · apparition · specter · phantom · sinister · shadowy · demonic · supernatural
goosebumps
Raised skin from cold
- shiverInvoluntary trembling sensation
- shudderConvulsive trembling from fear
- chillsShivering spells from illness
spine-tingling · unsettling · eerie · uncanny · weird · disturbing · off-putting · unnerving · hair-raising · creeping
revulsion
Intense physical disgust
- nauseaPre-vomiting stomach discomfort
- loathingIntense, settled disgust
- sickeningCausing disgust or nausea
repugnant · gross · vile · foul · revolting · squeamish · stomach-turning · gag · retch · queasy
dread
Intense anticipatory fear
phobia · nightmare · menace · threat · haunt · ominous · foreboding · spooked · alarmed · arachnophobia
macabre
Disturbing, death-obsessed
- ghoulishFascinated by death grotesquely
- gothicDark, mysterious aesthetic
- grotesqueDistorted, bizarre figure
monstrous · bloodcurdling · apparition · specter · phantom · sinister · shadowy · demonic · supernatural · undead
make someone's skin crawlwarm the cockles of someone's heart
Cause profound emotional contentment
making, makers, someone, crawls, crawled, crawling, crawler, crawlers