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repulsive Definition

re·pul·sive (ri pul′siv)

adjective

  1. tending to repel
  2. causing strong dislike or aversion; disgusting; offensive
  3. characterized by, or having the nature of, repulsion

Etymology: ML repulsivus

repulsive Related Forms

re·pul′·sively adverb re·pul′·sive·ness noun

repulsive Synonyms

repulsive

modif.

  1. Disgusting

    repugnant, odious, forbidding, horrid; see offensive 2.

  2. Capable of repelling

    resistant, repellent, offensive, unyielding, stubborn, opposing, retaliating, insurgent, counteracting, attacking, counterattacking, defensive, combative, aggressive, pugnacious, obstinate.

    Antonyms yielding*, surrendering, capitulating.

repulsive Usage Examples

Preposition: in

way: He sired five illegitimate children by his various housekeepers, despite, it is said, being repulsive in every imaginable way.

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • find: A more holistic view of the human person might well find the idea repulsive.
  • break: A gulf is created not just in our families but between us and God. finds breaking faith repulsive.

Modifies a noun

  • force: Lone pairs exert a greater repulsive force even than multiple bonds.
  • interaction: The crucial point, tho, is that the repulsive interactions between electrons have been left out in the one-electron view.
  • character: Des Esseintes is at once one of the most attractive and repulsive characters in literature.
  • potential: The latter are supplemented by forces derived from a repulsive pair potential.
  • effect: The repulsive effect of multiple bonds will be greater than the repulsive effect of single bonds.
  • term: James labeled the sins of those folk in stark, ugly and repulsive terms.

Modifying Another Word

  • morally: Had the council not thought hunting to be morally repulsive, the resolution would not have been made.
  • utterly: Wherever they were, I was glad that they were nowhere to be seen, as I found them an utterly repulsive vermin.
  • physically: Not only is she physically repulsive, she's horribly mean.
  • particularly: And yesterday we had a particularly repulsive comment on the last subject from Deputy Prime Minister Seselj.
  • so: I am so repulsive that when I look in a mirror I frighten myself.
  • often: The unimpassioned account of a mutilated former slave is the ideal narrative vehicle for the passionate and often repulsive material of the story.

Used with adjective complement

  • find: He is the first Conservative leader to espouse a doctrine which the Church of England finds entirely repulsive.
  • look: To her it looked repulsive, ' like a toad ' .
  • become: It became repulsive, criminal, and in the end also generally bankrupt.
  • sound: It may sound repulsive, but one look at the place and you'll come over all Barbie and Ken.