repulsion

American  

[ri-puhl-shuhn] / rɪˈpʌl ʃən /

noun

repulsions plural

1. the act of repulsing or the state of being repulsed.

2. the feeling of being repelled, as by the thought or presence of something; distaste, repugnance, or aversion.

3. Physics. the force that acts between bodies of like electric charge or magnetic polarity, tending to separate them.

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repulsion British  

/ rɪˈpʌlʃən /

noun

1. a feeling of disgust or aversion

2. physics a force tending to separate two objects, such as the force between two like electric charges or magnetic poles

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interrepulsion
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• repulsions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of repulsion

1375–1425; late Middle English < Middle French < Medieval Latin repulsiōn- (stem of Late Latin repulsiō ), equivalent to Latin repuls ( us ) ( see repulse) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

Repulsion is getting grossed out. If the thought of great green globs of greasy grimy gopher guts makes you recoil in horror, then you've experienced repulsion, or an intense aversion to something. Where there's repulsion, there's disgust. Maybe gagging. Perhaps a few screams. In physics, repulsion describes how two magnets with the same charge jump away from each other, kind of like how most of us leap from the table when mom puts down a plate of Brussels sprouts.

Example Sentences

Or they could simply be arresting abstractions in a sculpture that sits aesthetically between formal attraction and repulsion.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

At the time, watching these videos didn’t elicit nausea or repulsion in Jemima—they came across as amusing.

From Slate • May 12, 2026

Polling data backs up this anecdotal display of repulsion towards racist violence.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2026

For Tinashe, the incongruity of being the kind of person who has their Zoom camera off a day after they sang about seduction, repulsion and red flags in front of thousands seems the entire point.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2024

This means that when the star got sufficiently dense, the repulsion caused by the exclusion principle would be less than the attraction of gravity.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking