Want to know the biggest turn-offs for men? I’ve listed 32 of them in the guide below.
In my role as a life coach, I am often helping men and women make changes to aid their pursuit of a great romantic partner.
That’s why I felt a need to share this list.
Biggest Turn-Offs For Guys
This list was created to help women uncover blind spots that may be driving great men away. It’s split into three categories; immediate turn-offs, relationship turn-offs and physical turn-offs.
So, let’s dive in.
Immediate Turn-Offs
These are the personality traits that you can expect to make a good man run away immediately, (and a bad man run away after he’s slept with you).
1. Rudeness
Bad manners is a turn-off on a platonic and romantic level. You can play ‘hard to get’ without being rude.
2. Immaturity
A tiny bit of immaturity is cute. Too much is annoying to the core.
Men like having fun, but we also want a woman who can be an adult when the situation calls for it. We want to be your partner, not your babysitter.
On that same subject matter, most dudes could do without a single word of ‘baby talk’.
3. Stupidity
Stupidity turns men off. A man is often aware that his woman’s stupid behavior might eventually get him in trouble. It’s also going to cause more stress in his life than necessary.
What’s more, it’s tough to be spending time with a woman who lacks basic intelligence or communication skills.
4. Dishonesty
Any healthy romantic relationship should be based on trust, so if you’re caught being dishonest, you’re in with a great chance of messing things up. Dishonesty extends to editing your online dating photos too much or lying in your bio.
5. Phone Addiction
Most guys want to date a woman who will enjoy their presence when they’re out on dates or chilling at home, not a woman who is glued to her cell phone all the time, especially if she’s busy taking selfies or sending messages for the thirsty guys in her Instagram DMs.
6. Shyness
A little bit of shyness is forgivable, especially on nerve-wracking first dates.You’ll need to show some evidence of a fun personality eventually though.
7. Complaining
Dating and relationships are supposed to be enjoyable. If you’re moaning and complaining a lot on the first date or in the initial stages of dating, that can worry men. Bad vibes are infectious, so try and stay positive.
8. Cheating
The ultimate act of romantic dishonesty. It’s commonly believed that “once a cheater, always a cheater”. If you’re caught cheating on a boyfriend who has any sense of self-respect, you can expect to be shown the door immediately.
If you’re cheating on one man to try and secure another, this might be enough of a red flag for neither of them to want you.
9. Kids
There are plenty of men that don’t want to date a single mother. It’s a stress they’d rather do without. They want to spend quality time with you, not another man’s children.
10. Masculine Behavior
This is a turn-off on a biological level. Masculine men want to date feminine women. If you show a lot of hyper-masculine traits, you’ll turn these guys off.
11. Extreme Political Or Societal Beliefs
It’s possible to make a relationship work with different political and societal beliefs, as long as you’re not forcing yours down his and everyone else’s throats. Otherwise, you’re going to be too polarising for everyone but those who have the exact same views as you.
12. Reckless Behavior
It’s fairly common for men and women to meet on a night out and hit it off, while intoxicated at a bar or a nightclub. But if you’re recklessly intoxicated, most good men aren’t going to want to pursue things any further that night, or maybe ever.
If you get in the habit of causing trouble anywhere, it’ll scare away most male friends and romantic interests in your life.
13. Expecting Free Stuff
Society is at this weird point where no-one can agree on who should pay for what during a romantic courtship. With that said, if you’re the type of woman who expects to receive expensive gifts all the time, you’re going to turn off a lot of them.
14. Desperation
It’s a well-known aspect of human psychology that if the ‘buyer’ wants something too much, the ‘seller’ becomes suspicious. In a social or romantic context, we assume they want to be with us so badly, because they can’t attract anyone else nearly as good. This makes us second-guess whether we actually want them at all.
If you tend to fall victim to chasing a love interest too much, check out this guide: Know Your Self-Worth in a Relationship – Online Test.
Turn-Offs In A Relationship
These are the flaws which take longer to uncover and therefore tend to spell the end of a long-term relationship, rather than an immediate goodbye on day one.
If you’re worried about your relationship turning sour, perhaps you’ll appreciate these Strategies to Heal Relationship Burnout – Backed by Science.
15. Promiscuous Behavior
If you’re this man’s girlfriend, he won’t want you acting like you’re anyone else’s. Each man will have boundaries for what’s a big deal as far as promiscuous behavior within their relationships, which you should really talk about before getting into one.
16. Nagging
There are constructive and destructive ways to discuss what you want from your relationship. Nagging definitely falls into the latter category.
17. Demanding
There are respectful and disrespectful ways to ask for things. If you’re making demands of your partner, you’re most likely going to annoy him.
18. Being Unappreciative
If you don’t appreciate what your man does for you, he’s going to be less likely to want to do anything else.
19. Selfishness
A loving relationship should be a two-way street. Both parties should be striving to make the other one happy. Are you focusing on your man’s happiness or just your own?
20. Being Entitled
If you think you deserve all the amazing things in the world just because you’re a woman, you’re committing one of the biggest turn-offs for guys.
21. Financial Recklessness
This might not cross a man’s mind at the beginning of a relationship, but it’s going to put him off from wanting to move in with you or get married.
22. A Lack Of Effort In Bed
For most men, sex is an incredibly important part of the relationship. If you’re not making an effort to initiate sex or fulfil his turn-ons in bed, he’ll likely be upset or offended. Needless to say then, it’s a huge turn-off.
You don’t necessarily need to act like his favorite adult movies star, but at least do what it takes to make him feel sexy and desired.
23. Laziness
A universally detested trait. This might not be a massive turn-off during the early phases of dating, but it will drive your man crazy once you’re living together. Guys tend to want a partner who inspires them to grow. If you’re the type of woman who plays dead on the couch most weekends, you’ll be the exact opposite of this inspiration he’s looking for.
24. A Lack Of Independence
A lot of men will get off on being the knight in shining armour who saves the helpless princess, but if you can barely do a thing without his assistance, it’s going to grind at his gears eventually.
25. Talking Too Much
The problem with a person talking too much is that they’re generally not listening to the other person, or letting them talk. This can make men feel worthless and underappreciated in their relationship.
26. Playing Games
It’s generally accepted that there needs to be a bit of cat and mouse during the early courtship, but most dudes have no time for mind games, once in a committed relationship. At this point, it should be accepted that you’re the only guy for her. There should be no playing hard to get, no mixed messages and no showing interest to other men.
This guide on STAGES Of A Healthy Relationship could help if you get stuck playing mind games with your boyfriend.
27. Moving Too Fast
In spite of the last point, it’s also a horrible idea to pressure a guy to move in, get married or have children before he’s ready. You’re just as likely to scare him off as you are to get what you wanted.
Physical Turn-Offs In A Man
Yes, all men have their types for women. Yes, the media bombards women with messages about the importance of beauty. But, a lot of guys will overlook most imperfections if you’re a kind, fun and loving person.
With that said, here are probably the most major turn-offs when it comes to your appearance.
28. An Unhealthy Weight
Most people don’t want their partners to be overweight. It’s visually unappealing. It’s also evidence that you’re lazy and undisciplined with no self-respect.
29. Body Hair
Yes, it’s a pain for women to manage. Still, it’s true that most men don’t find hairy legs or armpits attractive. That counts double for hair on your top lip.
30. Poor Hygiene
While men can overlook most physical flaws, it’s difficult for them to remain interested if you smell bad. If you want to land a date (or, to be honest, make friends), it’s in your best interests to eliminate body odor, bad breath or any other signs of poor hygiene.
31. Too Much Make-Up
You’re more likely to turn guys off by wearing too much make-up than too little, especially if you’re naturally beautiful.
It’s possible to look ridiculous in the eyes of men when you cake your face in make-up. It’s often interpreted as a sign of low self-esteem too.
32. Bad Tattoos
Tattoos aren’t among the most common turn-offs. A lot of guys find them sexy. Many more are indifferent.
However, there’s probably a line as far as how bad your tattoo is that will stop most men wanting to date you. Perhaps that’s your ex’s name on your wrist. Maybe it’s a giant zombie head on your butt.
While there’s not much you can do about your existing tattoos, it’s worth having a talk about your partner’s feelings before getting any new ones.
Disclaimer: Should You Care About Men’s Feelings?
That’s the end of the list.
Maybe one or more of the items on it described you – and you decided you don’t care. Perhaps you told yourself you don’t want a man who can’t accept this flaw. There’s nothing wrong with that. When making decisions about you want to be, you should absolutely consider more than what the opposite sex likes.
Maybe you’ve found a particular guy who loves an aspect of your personality listed as a turn-off here. That’s great too! What some guys hate, other guys love. That’s one of the magical things about life.
However, this is a list of what turns off most guys. In fact, a lot of the personality traits listed annoy most people. So, if you’re interested in having a bigger pool of dates (or friends) to choose from, improving these aspects of your personality could help. If you feel comfortable with the person you are and have no interest in improving yourself, that’s fine too.
For more guidance on how strong your relationship is, see this Relationship Test – Proven by Tony Robbins
Any Questions About The Biggest Turn-Offs For Guys?
Thanks for reading my list. I really enjoy writing and talking about dating and relationships.
If you’re a man who wants to reveal his biggest turn-off or a woman who wants to start a discussion about this topic, feel free to leave a comment below.
I love hearing from those who spend time reading my article. It would be great to talk further about this subject.
Related Posts
Signs from The Universe That Someone Is Missing You
