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I've heard this word a lot of times, but still don't know how to write it down. It's used when you want to show some kind of disgust, or something like that. It sounds like "ish" or "eesh".

I've heard it used like so:

Ish, calm down, will you?

Or:

– I've heard they're re-writing that book.
– Ish, I've always hated it.

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  • I have never heard anyone ever say something like that out loud in my entire life (AmE). But it looks like what MAD magazine in the 60's and 70's and Charlie Brown used: 'yeesh' for mild exasperation, not disgust.
    – Mitch
    Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 23:28
  • Ish would be pronounced to rhyme with "dish" and isn't a sound/word I've ever heard (except when meaning "approximately").
    – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten
    Commented Aug 17, 2019 at 1:58

2 Answers 2

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The interjection you are describing is commonly spelled "eesh" and expresses "distaste, disgust, or trepidation" according to its Wiktionary entry (which is backed up by quotations from books published in 2013 and 2014).

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Merriam-Webster does not have a definition of eesh, but it does have one for sheesh:

interjection
—used to express disappointment, annoyance, or surprise

Wikipedia does list eesh:

  1. Expressing distaste, disgust, or trepidation.

And it points to both sheesh and yeesh as being related.

Eesh may or may not have come about as a shortened version of sheese, nor is it entirely clear if their specific uses are different. (Personally, I can more or less substitute one for the other without really sensing a difference.)

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