repel
- 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.
- to act with a force that drives or keeps away something.
- to cause distaste or aversion.
Origin of repel
Synonyms for repel
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms for repel
Related Words for repelled
withstand, confront, resist, rebuff, offend, repulse, disgust, sicken, decline, refuse, cut, traverse, buck, cool, dismiss, duel, parry, rebut, oppose, rejectExamples from the Web for repelled
Contemporary Examples of repelled
Early airpower theorists were not only repelled by trench warfare.
There are many, many reasons to be repelled by Ronaldo that have nothing to do with his athletic performance.
Why It’s Still OK to Hate Sexy Bastard Cristiano Ronaldo After He Saved Team USAEmily Shire
June 26, 2014
Hundreds of insurgents attacked and were only repelled by teams of Apache helicopters.
We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of NightNathan Bradley Bethea
June 2, 2014
King Alfred of Wessex repelled the attacks and laid the foundations for a kingdom that would become known as England.
I was repelled from liberalism because I disliked sentimentality in politics.
Historical Examples of repelled
But terrible indeed was the cost at which the last had been repelled.
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
His instinct of sympathy with which he had greeted her at the outset was repelled, and made of no avail.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
I then repelled that curiosity, for my mind was not in a situation to gratify it.
The Works of Whittier, Volume V (of VII)John Greenleaf Whittier
Butterby would have cast suspicion to him then, but I repelled it.
The ChanningsMrs. Henry Wood
She repelled my mocking smile with a glance of scornful indignation.
The Tenant of Wildfell HallAnne Bronte
repel
- 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