repel

Verb
US[rih-pel]/rɪˈpɛl/2 syllables
Synonyms: driverepulseforce backpush backbeat backfight offrebuffdrive backsnubdisgustgross outrevolt

Open English WordNet

Verb (5)repelled, repelling

  1. cause to move back by force or influence“repel the enemy”“push back the urge to smoke”“beat back the invaders”Synonyms: driverepulseforce backpush backbeat backMore general push, forceSimilar drive
  2. be repellent to; cause aversion inSynonyms: repulseOpposite appealMore general displeaseMore specific disgust, turn off
  3. force or drive back“repel the attacker”“fight off the onslaught”“rebuff the attack”Synonyms: repulsefight offrebuffdrive backMore general fight, oppose
  4. reject outright and bluntly“She snubbed his proposal”Synonyms: rebuffsnubMore general reject, spurn
  5. fill with distaste“This spoilt food disgusts me”Synonyms: disgustgross outrevoltMore general stimulate, exciteMore specific sicken, nauseate

Related words repulsive adjective, repellent adjective, repellant adjective, repellant noun, repellent noun, repulse noun

Word of the day · Sep 29About this word
haphazardadjective

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Re··pel′ (r?-p?l′), transitive verb [past tense & past participle Repelled (-p?ld′); present participle & verbal noun Repelling.]

Origin: L. repellere, repulsum; pref. re- re- + pellere to drive. See Pulse a beating, and cf. Repulse, Repeal.

1. To drive back; to force to return; to check the advance of; to repulse as, to repel an enemy or an assailant.

Hippomedon repelled the hostile tide.— Alexander Pope
They repelled each other strongly, and yet attracted each other strongly.— Thomas Babington Macaulay

2. To resist or oppose effectually; as, to repel an assault, an encroachment, or an argument.

[He] gently repelled their entreaties.— Nathaniel Hawthorne

Synonyms: Tu repulse; resist; oppose; reject; refuse.

Re·pel′ intransitive verb

To act with force in opposition to force impressed; to exercise repulsion.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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