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 repelled

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 repelled

Contemporary Examples of repelled

Early airpower theorists were not only repelled by trench warfare.
Why the U.S. Army Is Stuck in the 19th Century
Bill Sweetman
September 2, 2014
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 USA
Emily 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 Night
Nathan 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.
Scientists Find Remains of Alfred The Great Or King Edward The Elder
Nico Hines
January 17, 2014
I was repelled from liberalism because I disliked sentimentality in politics.
David Mamet's Right Turn
David Frum
May 9, 2012

Historical Examples of repelled

But terrible indeed was the cost at which the last had been repelled.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
His instinct of sympathy with which he had greeted her at the outset was repelled, and made of no avail.
Within the Law
Marvin 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 Channings
Mrs. Henry Wood
She repelled my mocking smile with a glance of scornful indignation.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Anne Bronte

British Dictionary definitions for repelled

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 repelled

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.