(rĭ-pŭlsˈ)
transitive verb re·pulsed,
re·puls·ing,
re·puls·es - To drive back; repel.
- To rebuff or reject with rudeness, coldness, or denial.
- Usage Problem To cause repugnance or distaste in.
noun- The act of repulsing or the state of being repulsed.
- Rejection; refusal.
Related Forms:
Usage Note: A number of critics have maintained that
repulse should only be used to mean “to drive away, spurn,” as in
He rudely repulsed their overtures, and not to mean “to cause repulsion in,” as in
Their hypocrisy repulsed me. In recent years, however, there has been an increasing tendency to use
repulse in the latter sense. Reputable literary precedent exists for this usage, and given that the stigmatized use of
repulse is parallel to the unexceptionable uses of
repulsion and
repulsive, the frequency of its appearance is not surprising. Still, writers who want to avoid
repulse may choose
repel, a synonym that is perfectly acceptable.
