repel
Americanverb (used with object)
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to drive or force back (an assailant, invader, etc.).
- Antonyms:
- attract
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to thrust back or away.
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to resist effectively (an attack, onslaught, etc.).
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to keep off or out; fail to mix with.
Water and oil repel each other.
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to resist the absorption or passage of (water or other liquid).
This coat repels rain.
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to refuse to have to do with; resist involvement in.
to repel temptation.
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to refuse to accept or admit; reject.
to repel a suggestion.
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to discourage the advances of (a person).
He repelled me with his harshness.
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to cause distaste or aversion in.
Their untidy appearance repelled us.
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to push back or away by a force, as one body acting upon another (opposed to attract).
The north pole of one magnet will repel the north pole of another.
verb (used without object)
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to act with a force that drives or keeps away something.
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to cause distaste or aversion.
verb
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to force or drive back (something or somebody, esp an attacker)
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(also intr) to produce a feeling of aversion or distaste in (someone or something); be disgusting (to)
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to push aside; dismiss
he repelled the suggestion as wrong and impossible
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to be effective in keeping away, controlling, or resisting
an aerosol spray that repels flies
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to have no affinity for; fail to mix with or absorb
water and oil repel each other
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to disdain to accept (something); turn away from or spurn
she repelled his advances
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(also intr) to exert an opposing force on (something)
an electric charge repels another charge of the same sign
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of repel
1350–1400; Middle English repellen < Latin repellere to drive back, equivalent to re- re- + pellere to drive, push; see repulse
Explanation
Use the verb repel when you want to turn something away. You might drench yourself in bug spray to repel the mosquitoes that plague you when you go camping. This versatile word can be used in relation to everything from bugs to unwanted romantic advances. The word repel can be used to describe the act of driving something away, as in the case of bugs or other pesky critters, including potential suitors. It can also be used to describe something that causes disgust or distaste. For example, the thought of eating snails might repel you.
Vocabulary lists containing repel
Electricity and Magnetism - Introductory
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Physics - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Appeared in the February 10, 2026, print edition as 'Olympia’s Plan to Repel Startups'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026
Why you want this: The Repel brand appears on almost every list of the best umbrellas.
From Slate • Oct. 2, 2019
Consumer Reports recently tested several so-called natural spray repellents and recommended at least one, Repel Lemon Eucalyptus.
From New York Times • Jul. 14, 2017
Medina sprayed herself with sunblock and slid a bottle of Repel 100 for mosquitoes into the pocket of her green uniform before getting into her SUV.
From Washington Post • Oct. 23, 2016
Now timber shores and massive piles Repel our hull with friendly stroke, And guide us up the long defiles, Till after many fairy miles We reach the head of Pocomoke.
From Tales of the Chesapeake by Townsend, George Alfred
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
