The distasteful adjective - a favourite of Great British Bake Off presenting duo Mel and Sue - has topped polls in the UK, US and Canada, according to those behind the global survey.
Oxford University Press said "no", "Brexit" and "British", joined moist as the UK's four most-despised words.
More than 10,000 people have responded to the survey so far.
"Moist" - dubbed by comedian Miranda Hart the "queen of all words" - also leads the way in the US, Canada and Australia, also coming second in the poll of Dutch opinion.
"No" is least popular in the early running in the Netherlands and Germany, while "love" and "sorry" find the least favour in India.
Dan Braddock, from Oxford University Press, said this was the first time Oxford Dictionaries - which focuses on current English usage - had tried such an experiment and "we're not entirely sure what to expect yet".
"We thought for a long time about the question to open with, but we decided to go down the negative route," he said.
"We thought people were more likely to have strong opinions about a negative subject matter."
He said the publisher hoped to collect 30,000 replies by the end of the project.
Despite the poll's findings, "moist" does not appear to be universally despised.
On Wednesday's edition of The Great British Bake Off, host Mel Giedroyc remarked that it was her "favourite word" as she urged contestants to produce a "sumptuous" drizzle cake.

The 25-year-old woman was attacked as she walked on a footpath in Wythenshawe Park at about 04:00 BST on 5 July. Extra police patrols were carried out in the aftermath.
Daniel McBurney, 30, from Sale, has been charged with rape and robbery, Greater Manchester Police said.
He will appear before Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court later.

Protests have been held at the Little Plumpton site since shale gas extraction was approved in 2016.
More officers are needed as activity increases, costing an extra £200k this financial year, said a spokesman.
Last month, the Home Office said the force would "continue to have" resources "to keep communities safe".
Planning permission for energy firm Cuadrilla to carry out fracking at the Preston New Road site was initially declined by Lancashire County Council, but that decision was overturned by Communities Minister Sajid Javid in October.
Protests have been held regularly at the site since initial works began in January.
Energy firm Cuadrilla has said drilling would start in the spring.
It would mean that, for the first time, UK shale rock will be drilled horizontally, which is expected to yield more gas. However, the process has prompted environmental concerns.
A force spokesman said the additional £450,000 a month policing cost would be kept under review and published.
"We also estimate we will have spent up to £200k additional costs in the current financial year.
"The increase is because activity at the site is increasing and so are the number of officers there."
"Moist" is the early front-runner in a search to find the most-hated word in the English language.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
A man has been charged with rape after a woman was attacked in a park in Manchester.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
Policing the fracking operation in Lancashire will cost the force an additional £450,000 a month while it continues, say police.