noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A sensory signal (such as an image or sound) that directly causes harmful or undesired physiological effects to one who senses or perceives it.

   "The symbol on that piece of paper is a cognitohazard which puts everyone who reads it in a week-long coma."

Example

More examples

"The symbol on that piece of paper is a cognitohazard which puts everyone who reads it in a week-long coma."

Etymology

Blend of cognition + hazard, likely coined and popularized by the SCP Foundation wiki.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.