repulse

American  

[ri-puhls] / rɪˈpʌls /

verb (used with object)

repulsed, repulsing

1. to drive back; repel.

   to repulse an assailant.

2. to repel with denial, discourtesy, or the like; refuse or reject.

   Synonyms:

   snub, shun, spurn, rebuff

3. to cause feelings of repulsion in.

   The scenes of violence in the film may repulse some viewers.

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noun

1. the act of repelling.

2. the fact of being repelled, as in hostile encounter.

3. a refusal or rejection.

repulse British  

/ rɪˈpʌls /

verb

1. to drive back or ward off (an attacking force); repel; rebuff

2. to reject with coldness or discourtesy

   she repulsed his advances

3. to produce a feeling of aversion or distaste

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noun

1. the act or an instance of driving back or warding off; rebuff

2. a cold discourteous rejection or refusal

Usage

Some people think that the use of repulse in sentences such as he was repulsed by what he saw is incorrect and that the correct word is repel

Other Word Forms

• repulser
  noun
• unrepulsed
  adjective
• unrepulsing
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of repulse

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin repulsus, past participle of repellere to repel

Explanation

To repulse something is to repel it or drive it back. When you repulse your sister, you disgust her. When you repulse the enemy in battle or someone in conversation, you force them back or make them turn away. Repulse is related to the word repel, and they mean similar things: to repulse an advance — romantic or warring — is to repel, or fend off, its advance. To repulse someone by being disgusting is to be repellent. You could repulse a person's attempts at conversation if you repulse him by picking your nose. Repulse is now most frequently used in the gross-out sense, but Jane Austin often had her characters repulse each others’ attempts at conversation or civility.

Example Sentences

Over the green hills, we meander beyond Happy Valley to find Repulse Bay.

From Salon • Jul. 12, 2025

The British battleship Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Repulse lie on the floor of the South China Sea off Malaysia’s east coast.

From Washington Times • May 30, 2023

Ammunition believed to be from the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, which were sunk by Japanese forces more than 80 years ago, was then found on board.

From BBC • May 30, 2023

One group offended local sensibilities by slurping cup noodles outside a public toilet in Repulse Bay, a beach redoubt of multimillion-dollar homes.

From New York Times • May 9, 2023

The very day that he was forced by failing food to turn back, Captain Parry, R.N., in the Fury, sailed out of Repulse Bay five hundred and forty miles to the east.

From True Tales of Arctic Heroism in the New World by Greely, Adolphus W.

Related Words

• fend off
• overthrow
• put down
• rebuff
• repel
• resist