repel
Americanverb (used with object)
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repels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
repelled,
past participle, past
-
repelling
present participle
-
to drive or force back (an assailant, invader, etc.).
- Antonyms:
- attract
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to thrust back or away.
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to resist effectively (an attack, onslaught, etc.).
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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.
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to refuse to accept or admit; reject.
to repel a suggestion.
-
to discourage the advances of (a person).
He repelled me with his harshness.
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to cause distaste or aversion in.
Their untidy appearance repelled us.
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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)
-
repels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
repelled,
past participle, past
-
repelling
present participle
-
to act with a force that drives or keeps away something.
-
to cause distaste or aversion.
verb
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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)
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to push aside; dismiss
he repelled the suggestion as wrong and impossible
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to be effective in keeping away, controlling, or resisting
an aerosol spray that repels flies
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to have no affinity for; fail to mix with or absorb
water and oil repel each other
-
to disdain to accept (something); turn away from or spurn
she repelled his advances
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(also intr) to exert an opposing force on (something)
an electric charge repels another charge of the same sign
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonrepellencenoun
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nonrepellencynoun
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nonrepellernoun
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repellencenoun
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repellencynoun
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repellernoun
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repellingnessnoun
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self-repellencynoun
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unrepelledadjective
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repellinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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repelsimple
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repelssimple
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have repelledperfect
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has repelledperfect
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am repellingprogressive
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are repellingprogressive
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is repellingprogressive
-
have been repellingperfect progressive
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has been repellingperfect progressive
Past
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repelledsimple
-
had repelledperfect
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was repellingprogressive
-
were repellingprogressive
-
had been repellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of repel
1350–1400; Middle English repellen < Latin repellere to drive back, equivalent to re- re- + pellere to drive, push; see repulse
Explanation
Use the verb repel when you want to turn something away. You might drench yourself in bug spray to repel the mosquitoes that plague you when you go camping. This versatile word can be used in relation to everything from bugs to unwanted romantic advances. The word repel can be used to describe the act of driving something away, as in the case of bugs or other pesky critters, including potential suitors. It can also be used to describe something that causes disgust or distaste. For example, the thought of eating snails might repel you.
Vocabulary lists containing repel
Electricity and Magnetism - Introductory
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Physics - Introductory
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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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.
See Examples For:
Grief tethers Supergirl to Ruthye, even though they disagree on how to handle it, and it also seems to repel her from Corenswet’s dopey, innocent Clark Kent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
Drone strikes beyond the battlefield pump up market for technology to repel them.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026
That ability to repel opposition players has become a trademark move.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
The limonene changes the algae's surface properties, making it repel water.
From Science Daily ● May 12, 2026
But not all communication in the insect world is by scents that lure or repel.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
In one part of the conveyor system, a vibrating panel called an eddy current creates a sort of reverse magnet that repels nonferrous materials like aluminum beverage cans into their own collection area.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
A can of worms—its opening both entices and repels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 13, 2026
But with all the progress being made, and a true effort to fix this problem that generally repels people from the sport, the numbers are starting to go back up in California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2024
As our magnetosphere repels the storm, it creates the aurora.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2024
“A shield that repels germs while it gently cleanses your pores, leaving a spanking-clean exterior.”
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
The Malian army confirmed the rebel assaults on the four towns and Kenieroba on Facebook Saturday morning, asserting that "these attacks were vigorously repelled" and that "the situation is completely under control."
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
They were briefly repelled by a security guard, who, along with two other victims in the parking lot, alerted people at the center and police to the attack, saving lives.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026
Kuwait's military said it repelled a dawn drone attack.
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
The author acknowledges that there is a benefit to being repelled by animals that carry disease—or that look like they might.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
He and his friends, Hazel and Frank, were standing in the middle of a fountain as Percy repelled the angry Romans with blasts of water.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
If elected, Wadagni is expected to be able to count on the loyalty of the army, which played a decisive role in repelling an attempted coup against Talon in December.
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
It’s almost perfect, in other words, for repelling crowds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
The rod-shaped CSV nanocrystals improve how well the perovskite precursor spreads across the typically water repelling SAM surface, allowing for more uniform coverage.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 1, 2026
This performance, one especially dear to Mr. Nakadai, still haunts, at once repelling viewers while somehow eliciting their sympathy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025
I push Ollie away from me, repelling everything he just said.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
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.
