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.

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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

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noun

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

2. a cold discourteous rejection or refusal

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

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

Dom’s questionable choices required an actor who wouldn’t repulse viewers, who would continue to fascinate even in ethically suspect waters.

From New York Times • Oct. 14, 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

Nowhere else in Africa did a local ruler so successfully organize to repulse the invaders, but if circumstances had been different, they certainly could have done so.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

We returned to the schooner with our spoils, as we feared that the owner of the place even then sought out his neighbors to repulse us.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

• fend off
• overthrow
• put down
• rebuff
• repel
• resist