repulsive
Americanadjective
-
causing repugnance or aversion.
a repulsive mask.
- Synonyms:
- distasteful, offensive, disgusting, loathsome
-
capable of causing repulsion; serving to repulse.
to present enough repulsive force to keep the enemy from daring to attack.
-
tending to drive away or keep at a distance; cold; forbidding.
arrogant, repulsive airs to frighten the timid.
-
Physics. of the nature of or characterized by physical repulsion.
adjective
-
causing or occasioning repugnance; loathsome; disgusting or distasteful
a repulsive sight
-
tending to repel, esp by coldness and discourtesy
-
physics concerned with, producing, or being a repulsion
Other Word Forms
- repulsively adverb
- repulsiveness noun
- self-repulsive adjective
- unrepulsive adjective
- unrepulsively adverb
- unrepulsiveness noun
Etymology
Origin of repulsive
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.
Explorer John C. Frémont’s 1844 description of the Joshua tree as “the most repulsive tree in the vegetable kingdom” was just the beginning.
From Los Angeles Times
Tuchel's relationship with Bellingham has already created headlines, particularly when he admitted after the 3-1 loss to Senegal at the City Ground in June that his mother sometimes viewed the player's on-field behaviour as "repulsive" .
From BBC
Tuchel was keen to stress his positive relationship with Bellingham after he was forced to apologise to the midfielder earlier this year for calling his behaviour on the pitch "repulsive" during a live interview.
From BBC
The England manager apologised for describing the midfielder's on-field behaviour as "repulsive", saying he used the word "unintentionally", and also spoke to the Real Madrid player at the time.
From BBC
I snapped my feet from all angles, each photo more repulsive than the last.
From Salon
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.
