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repel Definition

re·pel (ri pel′)

transitive verb -·pelled′, -·pel′·ling

  1. to drive or force back; hold or ward off to repel an attack
  2. to refuse to accept, agree to, or submit to; reject to repel advances
  3. to refuse to accept (a person); spurn to repel a suitor
    1. to cause distaste or dislike in; disgust the odor repelled him
    2. to cause (insects, etc.) to react by staying away
    1. to be resistant to, or present an opposing force to a coating that repels moisture
    2. to fail to mix with or adhere to water repels oil

Etymology: ME repellen < L repellere, to drive back < re-, back + pellere, to drive: see pulse

intransitive verb

  1. to drive off, or offer an opposing force to, something
  2. to cause distaste, dislike, or aversion

repel Related Forms

re·pel′·ler noun

repel Synonyms

repel

v.

  1. To throw back

    rebuff, resist, deflect, withstand, stand up against, oppose, check, repulse, put to flight, keep at bay, knock down, drive away, chase away, drive back, beat back, hold back, force back, push back, beat off, ward off, chase off, stave off, fight off, hold off.

    Antonyms fall*, fail*, retreat. *

  2. To cause aversion

    nauseate, offend, revolt; see disgust.

  3. To reject

    dismiss, cast aside, spurn; see refuse.

repel Usage Examples

Object

  • invader: Do we repel invaders by running along the defenses?
  • boarder: This 9.2 inch rifle guarding the island " aircraft carrier " is intended to " repel boarders.
  • counter-attack: Later, he repelled repeated enemy counter-attacks on his position.
  • mosquito: Does taking high doses of vitamin B12 or garlic repel mosquitoes?
  • invasion: Each tower was fortified to repel invasion from France.
  • flea: Another example of this is how to repel fleas.

Subject

  • force: He wrote that all matter was either attracted or repelled by magnetic forces.
  • idea: Tho repelled by the idea at first, Rosalind soon becomes intrigued by her subject and begins to believe she may be innocent.
  • thought: We are fascinated, yet repelled by the thought of such overwhelming rage.. .

Preposition: onto

oxygen: In the process, the two electrons in one of the carbon-oxygen bonds are repelled entirely onto the oxygen, leaving it negatively charged.

Modifying Another Word

  • successfully: She successfully repelled a rebellion by Sir Thomas Wyatt.
  • finally: By the 8th century they had reached Poitiers in the Loire valley, but it was at this point that they were finally repelled.
  • even: The dialog is slick, the plot is involved but both exclude, even repel the viewer.
  • then: With the help of a Bren gunner and two riflemen he then repelled an enemy counter-attack on the captured bunker with heavy losses.
  • also: They also repel the worst that the British climate can throw at us.
  • not: They are not repelled by any of the moral carrion in the world.

Used with why or when

what: It is in being unable to repel what seems omnipresent but repels us, the cliché , modern America... .

Present participle complement

invade: As the story goes, all 10 sons were sent off to war to repel invading barbarians.

Preposition: by

  • force: He wrote that all matter was either attracted or repelled by magnetic forces.
  • idea: Tho repelled by the idea at first, Rosalind soon becomes intrigued by her subject and begins to believe she may be innocent.