View synonyms for repel

repel

[ri-pel]

verb (used with object)

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

    Synonyms: parry, repulse
    Antonyms: attract
  2. to thrust back or away.

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

    Synonyms: rebuff, oppose, withstand
  4. to keep off or out; fail to mix with.

    Water and oil repel each other.

  5. to resist the absorption or passage of (water or other liquid).

    This coat repels rain.

  6. to refuse to have to do with; resist involvement in.

    to repel temptation.

  7. to refuse to accept or admit; reject.

    to repel a suggestion.

    Synonyms: rebuff, decline
  8. to discourage the advances of (a person).

    He repelled me with his harshness.

  9. to cause distaste or aversion in.

    Their untidy appearance repelled us.

  10. to push back or away by a force, as one body acting upon another (attract ).

    The north pole of one magnet will repel the north pole of another.



verb (used without object)

repelled, repelling 
  1. to act with a force that drives or keeps away something.

  2. to cause distaste or aversion.

repel

/ rɪˈpɛl /

verb

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

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

  3. to push aside; dismiss

    he repelled the suggestion as wrong and impossible

  4. to be effective in keeping away, controlling, or resisting

    an aerosol spray that repels flies

  5. to have no affinity for; fail to mix with or absorb

    water and oil repel each other

  6. to disdain to accept (something); turn away from or spurn

    she repelled his advances

  7. (also intr) to exert an opposing force on (something)

    an electric charge repels another charge of the same sign

“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
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Other Word Forms

  • repellence noun
  • repellency noun
  • repeller noun
  • repellingly adverb
  • repellingness noun
  • nonrepellence noun
  • nonrepellency noun
  • nonrepeller noun
  • self-repellency noun
  • unrepelled adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of repel1

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

Origin of repel1

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

Clad in military fatigues and armed with rifles loaded with blank cartridges, members of the Lithuanian Rifleman’s Union, or LRU, a state-funded paramilitary group, spent several days training to repel a possible enemy attack.

Verstappen was easily able to repel Norris' attacks, and in the closing stages the margin extended significantly as the McLaren began to suffer a technical issue which has so far not been defined.

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Nearly 50 years earlier, in 480 B.C., the two cities had united to lead the Hellenic alliance that repelled a Persian invasion.

Much of socialism’s appeal for young people stems from how it repels older generations—and from the rare sense of political agency that comes with it.

The magnetic force makes a comeback, this time repelling the Obayifo away from us.

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repechagerepellent