repel

[ ri-pel ]

/ rɪˈpɛl /

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.

Nearby words

Origin of repel

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

SYNONYMS FOR repel

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

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR repel ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR repel

1. attract.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR repel ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

re·pel·lence, re·pel·len·cy, nounre·pel·ler, nounre·pel·ling·ly, adverbre·pel·ling·ness, noun

non·re·pel·lence, nounnon·re·pel·len·cy, nounnon·re·pel·ler, nounself-re·pel·len·cy, nounun·re·pelled, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for repel

The only exception is military action to repel an imminent attack.
Obama’s ISIS War Is Illegal|Sen. Rand Paul|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
Simcoe is going to erect a fort in our territories, and the President has declared that he will repel the attempt.
Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856, Vol. I (of 16)|Thomas Hart Benton
The memorized lines of the young speaker will usually sound like memorized words, and repel.
The Art of Public Speaking|Dale Carnagey (AKA Dale Carnegie) and J. Berg Esenwein
For few indeed are the souls that are able by the aid of wealth to repel dangers of this description.
The Histories of Polybius, Vol. II (of 2)|Polybius
But he failed to repel the Turks, who in 1526 destroyed the power of Hungary at the battle of Mohcs.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 6|Various
But when it is intimated that all this is necessarily and inevitably so, I repel the insinuation.
The Bobbin Boy|William M. Thayer

British Dictionary definitions for repel

repel

/ (rɪˈpɛl) /

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

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.