repulsion
Americannoun
-
a feeling of disgust or aversion
-
physics a force tending to separate two objects, such as the force between two like electric charges or magnetic poles
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing repulsion
Beloved
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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
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Structure and Properties of Matter - Middle School
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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.
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
The repulsion indicates reduced proton trapping by the W6+ dopant, which leads to the high proton conductivity at low and intermediate temperatures.
From Science Daily • May 29, 2024
Obinze felt repulsion and longing; he pitied them, but he also imagined being like them.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
