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

See Examples For:

repulsion repulsions

Depending on its value, that effect can produce either attraction or repulsion.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026

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

Bod looked up at the city, and was horrified: an emotion engulfed him that mingled repulsion and fear, disgust and loathing, all tinged with shock.

From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman

The order of electron-pair repulsions from greatest to least repulsion is:

From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019

We can also learn how to get over our repulsions.

From The Verge ● May 9, 2018

Mr. Hastings writes incisively about the attractions and repulsions of the new media gossip.

From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2014

Strong repulsions at pH values of 4 and 11 but not at pH 7 indicate that the neuraminidase-like domain acts as an electrostatic lock that opens at high or low pH values.

From Nature ● Apr. 4, 2014

Matter and force in their countless forms, affinities and repulsions produced the living, breathing world.

From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 4 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Lectures by Robert Green Ingersoll