repugnant
Americanadjective
-
distasteful, objectionable, or offensive.
a repugnant smell.
-
making opposition; averse.
-
opposed or contrary, as in nature or character.
- Synonyms:
- hostile, adverse, antagonistic
adjective
-
repellent to the senses; causing aversion
-
distasteful; offensive; disgusting
-
contradictory; inconsistent or incompatible
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of repugnant
1350–1400; Middle English repugnaunt < Middle French < Latin repugnant- (stem of repugnāns, present participle of repugnāre ), equivalent to repugn ( āre ) to repugn + -ant- -ant
Explanation
Repugnant refers to something you detest so thoroughly it threatens to make you physically sick, like the idea of marrying your sister. Or wearing last year's jeans. A repugnant thing is a thing offensive, detestable, or obscene. It can be repugnant to your mind or your morals. It can also be physically repugnant, like the smell that comes from a restaurant’s dumpster, which hasn't been emptied since the very exciting "Omelet Week," way back at the beginning of August. Makes you want to "re-PLUG-nant" your nose!
Vocabulary lists containing repugnant
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 6
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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.
The accusation that voicing criticism of a campaign waged on flawed assumptions and fanciful expectations means rooting for the enemy is repugnant.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
Members of the local Jewish community have strongly condemned her actions, with one of the people who challenged her at the time describing them as "morally repugnant".
From BBC • Oct. 14, 2025
New additions Josh Charles and Timothy Simons are also flawlessly cast in roles that, like Serena, are similar to repugnant figures who have been normalized, whether famous or simply common.
From Salon • Apr. 8, 2025
Wambaugh’s characters were morally flexible, heroic, repugnant, compassionate, callous, deeply flawed, darkly comical — in a word, real.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2025
When I could have used one, when the kids were little, I couldn’t afford it; and later, when I could afford it, I still found the idea repugnant.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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.
