repellent
or re·pel·lant
causing distaste or aversion; repulsive.
forcing or driving back.
serving or tending to ward off or drive away.
impervious or resistant to something (often used in combination): moth-repellant.
something that repels, as a substance that keeps away insects.
a medicine that serves to prevent or reduce swellings, tumors, etc.
any of various durable or nondurable solutions applied to a fabric, garment, surface, etc., to increase its resistance, as to water, moths, mildew, etc.
Origin of repellent
1Other words for repellent
Other words from repellent
- re·pel·lent·ly, adverb
- in·ter·re·pel·lent, adjective
- non·re·pel·lent, adjective
- self-re·pel·lent, adjective
- un·re·pel·lent, adjective
- un·re·pel·lent·ly, adverb
Words that may be confused with repellent
- repellent , repulsive
Words Nearby repellent
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use repellent in a sentence
He witnessed repellent people spreading images of child sexual exploitation, flooding an affiliated image board so thoroughly that it had to be shut down.
TheDonald’s owner speaks out on why he finally pulled plug on hate-filled site | Craig Timberg, Drew Harwell | February 5, 2021 | Washington PostDown is certainly a good product when used properly, packs down tighter than synthetic insulation, however, despite major advancements in moisture-repellent treatments for down, it’s just not as foolproof.
Dress like an Alaskan to weather the winter cold | By Tyler Freel/Outdoor Life | January 20, 2021 | Popular-ScienceQuestions have swirled about how such an important government building, with so many security agencies available to assist, could be overcome by a mob of people wielding bats, bear repellent, and brute force.
Inspectors general of several federal agencies open sweeping review of security, intelligence surrounding Capitol attack | Devlin Barrett, Missy Ryan | January 15, 2021 | Washington PostThe insects have a hard, water-repellent outer covering called a cuticle, and can typically float on a liquid — and sure enough, the insects floated and fed without a problem.
Fire ants build little syphons out of sand to feed without drowning | Aayushi Pratap | October 20, 2020 | Science NewsA small strip of a water-repellent material separated the three sections, each treated with proteins to sense a different antibody.
A glowing new way to measure antibodies | Sid Perkins | September 30, 2020 | Science News For Students
Why do you think you were “an asperg-y movie fan…a jabbering repellent acolyte?”
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire | William O’Connor | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTTurning now to blame the American people for that violence is especially repellent for this reason.
This she did (we are not told how), and Beethoven reacted with ‘repellent coldness’.
Beethoven in Love: The Woman Who Captivated the Young Composer | John Suchet | January 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut nothing seemed to change the fact that the best repellent, for everyone else, was to have me around.
Mosquitoes Love Some People More and Science Wants to Know Why | Josh Dzieza | August 6, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe point is that sexual sleaze is more repellent when everyone can see it up close.
The images and pictures on the outside of the wall were made repellent, to keep strangers aloof.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems | Geoffrey ChaucerHe was an exceedingly handsome man of perhaps forty years of age, and yet there was something repellent in his features.
The Everlasting Arms | Joseph HockingBut Rosa had been too coy to Alfred's evident devotion—almost repellent at seasons.
At Last | Marion HarlandIt was trim and neat, indeed, and spotlessly clean; but it had the chill, repellent look of an uninhabited apartment.
A Charming Fellow, Volume II (of 3) | Frances Eleanor TrollopeThey had the curious tattooing on their cheeks, noses and foreheads, so that their appearance was repellent.
Adrift on the Pacific | Edward S. Ellis
British Dictionary definitions for repellent
/ (rɪˈpɛlənt) /
giving rise to disgust or aversion; distasteful or repulsive
driving or forcing away or back; repelling
something, esp a chemical substance, that repels: insect repellent
a substance with which fabrics are treated to increase their resistance to water
Derived forms of repellent
- repellence or repellency, noun
- repellently, adverb
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
Browse