repugnance
Americannoun
-
the state of being repugnant.
-
strong distaste, aversion, or objection; antipathy.
- Antonyms:
- liking, attraction
-
contradictoriness or inconsistency.
- Synonyms:
- irreconcilability, incompatibility, contrariety
- Antonyms:
- compatibility
Related Words
See dislike.
Etymology
Origin of repugnance
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French < Latin repugnantia, equivalent to repugn ( āre ) to repugn + -antia -ance
Explanation
Repugnance means strong distaste for something. If you love animals, you probably feel repugnance for people who mistreat their horses. The word repugnance comes from Latin root words, re, meaning back, and pugnare, to fight. When we use repugnance, we don't just mean the feeling of fighting back or resisting, but also a feeling of horror or sickness that causes you to resist in the first place. If something grosses you out, you feel repugnance for it. Repugnance can also express a feeling of moral horror: you probably feel repugnance at photographs of torture.
Vocabulary lists containing repugnance
Emotions on Display
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Frankenstein
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Treasure Island
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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.
Her Coachella set stared down repugnance and pushed against it, radiating so brightly it consumed the darkness, if only for a night.
From Salon • Apr. 16, 2025
Beyond its obvious repugnance in moral terms, Abe’s murder challenges us to consider what implications his sudden loss might have for the political future, in Japan and globally.
From Washington Post • Jul. 13, 2022
You regard that history with repugnance, and no doubt your friends would say they share that sentiment.
From New York Times • Dec. 28, 2021
But the switch stuck in his mind as a way to physically portray the repugnance of fascism through a rodent-eating alien race.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 7, 2021
Enough, that I saw my own feelings reflected in Herbert’s face, and not least among them, my repugnance towards the man who had done so much for me.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
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.
