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Showing results for repulse. Search instead for repulser.
Synonyms

repulse

American  
[ri-puhls] / rɪˈpʌls /

verb (used with object)

repulsed, repulsing

  1. to drive back; repel.

    to repulse an assailant.

  2. to repel with denial, discourtesy, or the like; refuse or reject.

    Synonyms:
    snub, shun, spurn, rebuff

  3. to cause feelings of repulsion in.

    The scenes of violence in the film may repulse some viewers.

noun

  1. the act of repelling.

  2. the fact of being repelled, as in hostile encounter.

  3. a refusal or rejection.

repulse British  
/ rɪˈpʌls /

verb

  1. to drive back or ward off (an attacking force); repel; rebuff

  2. to reject with coldness or discourtesy

    she repulsed his advances

  3. to produce a feeling of aversion or distaste

"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

noun

  1. the act or an instance of driving back or warding off; rebuff

  2. a cold discourteous rejection or refusal

"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

Usage

Some people think that the use of repulse in sentences such as he was repulsed by what he saw is incorrect and that the correct word is repel

Other Word Forms

  • repulser noun
  • unrepulsed adjective
  • unrepulsing adjective

Etymology

Origin of repulse

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin repulsus, past participle of repellere to repel

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.

Now he dresses as if he looks in his closet, asks what would most repulse women, and throws that on to speak in public.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2025

Kublai ultimately prevailed, since his bonds with the army conquering China and his resource-rich power base in the northeast left him well situated to repulse Ariq Boke’s attacks.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

TAIPEI, Taiwan — When Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky called in February for foreign volunteers to help repulse invading Russian forces, Chuang Yu-wei, a Taiwanese tour guide, signed up the next day.

From Washington Post • Jul. 3, 2022

In an update posted on social media, U.K. officials say that “despite heavy fighting, Ukrainian forces continue to repulse Russian attempts to occupy” the city.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 22, 2022

According to one source, he also pivoted north in time to repulse a Seleucid counterattack against Egypt.

From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro

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.