Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the release of her new film, The Girl on the Train, the British-born actor said the word which turns her off often appears in a character's description.

"With so many movies, women are held to what a man considers a feminine ideal," Blunt told the publication. "You have to be pretty. You have to be 'likeable', which is my least favourite bloody word in the industry."

Blunt went on to say that the word, which those who have read the Paula Hawkins novel on which the film is based will know does not really apply to Blunt's character, protagonist Rachel, is used to perpetuate a gendered double standard.

"Rachel isn't 'likeable'. What does that mean? To be witty and pretty and hold it together and be there for the guy? And he can just be a total drip?"

Going on to speak about her character's drinking problem, Blunt identified a similar disparity.

"A woman is a drunk, a whore, whereas the guy's like a partyer, a player," she said. "I've been around both women who drink too much and guys who drink too much and it's just as ugly on the guys. It makes me crazy."

The Girl on the Train is in cinemas on October 6.

Fairfax Media