repel

[ri-pel]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR repel ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), re·pelled, re·pel·ling.

to drive or force back (an assailant, invader, etc.).

to thrust back or away.

to resist effectively (an attack, onslaught, etc.).

to keep off or out; fail to mix with: Water and oil repel each other.

to resist the absorption or passage of (water or other liquid): This coat repels rain.

to refuse to have to do with; resist involvement in: to repel temptation.

to refuse to accept or admit; reject: to repel a suggestion.

to discourage the advances of (a person): He repelled me with his harshness.

to cause distaste or aversion in: Their untidy appearance repelled us.

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), re·pelled, re·pel·ling.

to act with a force that drives or keeps away something.

to cause distaste or aversion.

Origin of repel

1350–1400; Middle English repellen < Latin repellere to drive back, equivalent to re- re- + pellere to drive, push; see repulse

Related formsre·pel·lence, re·pel·len·cy, nounre·pel·ler, nounre·pel·ling·ly, adverbre·pel·ling·ness, nounnon·re·pel·lence, nounnon·re·pel·len·cy, nounnon·re·pel·ler, nounself-re·pel·len·cy, nounun·re·pelled, adjective

Synonyms for repel

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR repel ON THESAURUS.COM

1. repulse, parry, ward off. 3. withstand, oppose, rebuff. 7. decline, rebuff.

Antonyms for repel

1. attract.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for repel

withstand, confront, resist, rebuff, offend, repulse, disgust, sicken, decline, refuse, cut, traverse, buck, cool, dismiss, duel, parry, rebut, oppose, reject

Examples from the Web for repel

Contemporary Examples of repel

The only exception is military action to repel an imminent attack.
Obama’s ISIS War Is Illegal
Sen. Rand Paul
November 10, 2014
Bieber now knows his perfect body is no longer the weaponry with which to repel his bad press.
Justin Bieber's Abs Cannot Save Him
Tim Teeman
September 10, 2014
It was easy to imagine that the landscape was actively trying to repel us.
An Author at Home in Lonely Landscapes
Letitia Trent
July 11, 2014
On paper, the forces in Tikrit should have been more than adequate to repel even a force of this size.
The Paper Tiger of the Tigris: How ISIS Took Tikrit Without a Fight
Andrew Slater
June 29, 2014
Scuffles broke out with riot police, who used pepper spray to repel party members wielding Greek flags on thick wooden sticks.
Golden Dawn Continues Its Message of Hate
Ilana Glazer
May 3, 2013

Historical Examples of repel

But the shock was insufficient to repel the impetus of the charge.
The Last of the Mohicans
James Fenimore Cooper
Or did the horror of the men at the sight of him wound and repel him?
A Dish Of Orts
George MacDonald
Energetic measures were, however, adopted to repel the attack.
Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXXII No. 4, April 1848
Various
We see the noble afar off and they repel us; why should we intrude?
Essays, First Series
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Something that he could not repel since it had no substance he could grapple with.
The Sea-Hawk
Raphael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for repel

repel

verb -pels, -pelling or -pelled (mainly tr)

to force or drive back (something or somebody, esp an attacker)

(also intr) to produce a feeling of aversion or distaste in (someone or something); be disgusting (to)

to push aside; dismisshe repelled the suggestion as wrong and impossible

to be effective in keeping away, controlling, or resistingan aerosol spray that repels flies

to have no affinity for; fail to mix with or absorbwater and oil repel each other

to disdain to accept (something); turn away from or spurnshe repelled his advances

(also intr) to exert an opposing force on (something)an electric charge repels another charge of the same sign

Derived Formsrepeller, noun

Word Origin for repel

C15: from Latin repellere, from re- + pellere to push, drive

xref

See repulse

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for repel

early 15c., "to drive away, remove," from Old French repeller or directly from Latin repellere "to drive back," from re- "back" (see re-) + pellere "to drive, strike" (see pulse (n.1)). Meaning "to affect (a person) with distaste or aversion" is from 1817. Related: Repelled; repelling.