repugnant

[ri-puhg-nuhnt]

adjective

1. distasteful, objectionable, or offensive.

   a repugnant smell.

2. making opposition; averse.

3. opposed or contrary, as in nature or character.

   Synonyms: hostile, adverse, antagonistic

repugnant

/ rɪˈpʌɡnənt /

adjective

1. repellent to the senses; causing aversion

2. distasteful; offensive; disgusting

3. contradictory; inconsistent or incompatible

Other Word Forms

• repugnance noun
• repugnantly adverb
• unrepugnant adjective
• unrepugnantly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of repugnant¹

1350–1400; Middle English repugnaunt < Middle French < Latin repugnant- (stem of repugnāns, present participle of repugnāre ), equivalent to repugn ( āre ) to repugn + -ant- -ant

Word History and Origins

Origin of repugnant¹

C14: from Latin repugnāns resisting; see _repugn

Example Sentences

The 10-point “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” promises benefits including federal grants to universities that sign on to a list of changes in behavior, many of which are repugnant.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Members of the local Jewish community have strongly condemned her actions, with one of the people who challenged her at the time describing them as "morally repugnant".

Read more on BBC

"A lot of these comedians have been huge defenders of free speech, and to go and perform in Saudi Arabia, where free speech is so heavily curtailed, is extraordinary. It's morally repugnant."

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Second, tying liberty to wealth — and allowing other people to profit off the provision of liberty, thereby creating a cottage industry of freedom loans — is morally repugnant.

Read more on Salon

"The proscription of Palestine Action is repugnant to the tradition of the common law and contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights," he said.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• abhorrent 
• abominable 
• contradictory 
• disgusting 
• distasteful 
• incompatible 
• objectionable 
• odious 
• revolting 
• vile