repel
Americanverb (used with object)
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to drive or force back (an assailant, invader, etc.).
- Antonyms:
- attract
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to thrust back or away.
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to resist effectively (an attack, onslaught, etc.).
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to keep off or out; fail to mix with.
Water and oil repel each other.
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to resist the absorption or passage of (water or other liquid).
This coat repels rain.
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to refuse to have to do with; resist involvement in.
to repel temptation.
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to refuse to accept or admit; reject.
to repel a suggestion.
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to discourage the advances of (a person).
He repelled me with his harshness.
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to cause distaste or aversion in.
Their untidy appearance repelled us.
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to push back or away by a force, as one body acting upon another (attract ).
The north pole of one magnet will repel the north pole of another.
verb (used without object)
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to act with a force that drives or keeps away something.
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to cause distaste or aversion.
verb
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to force or drive back (something or somebody, esp an attacker)
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(also intr) to produce a feeling of aversion or distaste in (someone or something); be disgusting (to)
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to push aside; dismiss
he repelled the suggestion as wrong and impossible
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to be effective in keeping away, controlling, or resisting
an aerosol spray that repels flies
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to have no affinity for; fail to mix with or absorb
water and oil repel each other
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to disdain to accept (something); turn away from or spurn
she repelled his advances
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(also intr) to exert an opposing force on (something)
an electric charge repels another charge of the same sign
Other Word Forms
- nonrepellence noun
- nonrepellency noun
- nonrepeller noun
- repellence noun
- repellency noun
- repeller noun
- repellingly adverb
- repellingness noun
- self-repellency noun
- unrepelled adjective
Etymology
Origin of repel
1350–1400; Middle English repellen < Latin repellere to drive back, equivalent to re- re- + pellere to drive, push; repulse
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.
No longer could the Politburo rely on centuries-old doctrine of strategic withdrawal from the periphery to the interior, seeking better ground from which to repel an invader.
The Syrian army said that it had repelled a drone attack from neighbouring Iraq that targeted a southern Syrian base which previously housed US forces, state media reported.
From Barron's
This protein acts as a guidance signal that repels growing nerve fibers, preventing them from entering sensitive regions of the spine.
From Science Daily
But playing it safe comes with its own risks: If a familiar artist deviates from his or her usual mode, it can repel a loyal following.
She was not repelled by the room as I was.
From Literature
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.
