repugnant
Americanadjective
-
distasteful, objectionable, or offensive.
a repugnant smell.
-
making opposition; averse.
-
opposed or contrary, as in nature or character.
- Synonyms:
- hostile, adverse, antagonistic
adjective
-
repellent to the senses; causing aversion
-
distasteful; offensive; disgusting
-
contradictory; inconsistent or incompatible
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of repugnant
1350–1400; Middle English repugnaunt < Middle French < Latin repugnant- (stem of repugnāns, present participle of repugnāre ), equivalent to repugn ( āre ) to repugn + -ant- -ant
Explanation
Repugnant refers to something you detest so thoroughly it threatens to make you physically sick, like the idea of marrying your sister. Or wearing last year's jeans. A repugnant thing is a thing offensive, detestable, or obscene. It can be repugnant to your mind or your morals. It can also be physically repugnant, like the smell that comes from a restaurant’s dumpster, which hasn't been emptied since the very exciting "Omelet Week," way back at the beginning of August. Makes you want to "re-PLUG-nant" your nose!
Vocabulary lists containing repugnant
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 6
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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.
The accusation that voicing criticism of a campaign waged on flawed assumptions and fanciful expectations means rooting for the enemy is repugnant.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
The courts really do have the power to examine a statute or a permit and say, No, this is repugnant to the constitution and must be set aside.
From Slate • Dec. 20, 2024
The specifics are as repugnant, if not more so.
From Salon • Oct. 2, 2024
In a four-star review, the Independent's Clarisse Loughrey wrote that while the remake is "cleaner and less daring" than the original, McAvoy's performance is one of the "most impressively repugnant of the year".
From BBC • Sep. 10, 2024
Devine, obsessed by those repugnant crosses, could not stomach the thought that one of them, somewhere, somehow, might survive, mocking him into eternity.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
