repugnant

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /rɪˈpʌɡnənt/ UK /rɪˈpʌɡnənt/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
extremely distasteful or offensive; incompatible or contradictory

The idea of betraying a friend was repugnant to her.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · extremely distasteful or... repulsive abhorrent offensive distasteful loathsome odious

Opposites

agreeable pleasant compatible attractive

Word family

Derived forms repugnantly

Related forms repugn repugnance pugnacious

Etymology

From Old French repugnant, from Latin repugnans, present participle of repugnare ('to fight against'), from re- ('against') + pugnare ('to fight').

repugnare Latin pugnare Latin pugnus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# repugnant

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** rɪˈpʌɡnənt
**IPA (UK):** rɪˈpʌɡnənt

## Meanings
1. extremely distasteful or offensive; incompatible or contradictory

## Examples
- The idea of betraying a friend was repugnant to her.

## Synonyms
- repulsive
- abhorrent
- offensive
- distasteful
- loathsome
- odious

## Antonyms
- agreeable
- pleasant
- compatible
- attractive

## Derived Forms
- repugnantly

## Related Forms
- repugn
- repugnance
- pugnacious

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: repugnare
- Root: pugnare
- Root: pugnus

## Etymology
From Old French repugnant, from Latin repugnans, present participle of repugnare ('to fight against'), from re- ('against') + pugnare ('to fight').

## AI Etymology
Repugnant comes from Old French repugnant, from Latin repugnans, present participle of repugnare ('to fight against'), from re- ('against') + pugnare ('to fight'). The historical chain includes Latin repugnare, Latin pugnare, and Latin pugnus. Older glosses in the chain include "to fight against", "against", and "to fight", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, repugnant is best read as compound and borrowing, yielding an English adjective shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as an adjective, with the sense "extremely distasteful or offensive; incompatible or contradictory". English derivatives include repugnantly; related forms include repugn, repugnance, and pugnacious. The result is an English adjective whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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repugnant

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