repulse

C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /rɪˈpʌls/ UK /rɪˈpʌls/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to drive back or fend off; to cause distaste or revulsion in

The defenders managed to repulse the enemy's final assault.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to drive back or fend off;... repel rebufffend offdrive backreject disgust

Opposites

attract welcome embrace

Word family

Derived forms repulser

Related forms repulsion repulsive repel

Etymology

From Latin repulsus, past participle of repellere ('to drive back'), from re- ('back') + pellere ('to drive, push').

repulsus Latin repellere Latin pellere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction

External links

# repulse

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /rɪˈpʌls/
**IPA (UK):** /rɪˈpʌls/

## Meanings
1. to drive back or fend off; to cause distaste or revulsion in

## Examples
- The defenders managed to repulse the enemy's final assault.

## Synonyms
- repel
- rebuff
- fend off
- drive back
- reject
- disgust

## Antonyms
- attract
- welcome
- embrace

## Derived Forms
- repulser

## Related Forms
- repulsion
- repulsive
- repel

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: repulsus
- Root: repellere
- Root: pellere

## Etymology
From Latin repulsus, past participle of repellere ('to drive back'), from re- ('back') + pellere ('to drive, push').

## AI Etymology
Repulse comes from Latin repulsus, past participle of repellere ('to drive back'), from re- ('back') + pellere ('to drive, push'). The historical chain includes Latin repulsus, Latin repellere, and Latin pellere. Older glosses in the chain include "to drive back", "back", and "to drive, push", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, repulse is best read as compound and borrowing, yielding an English verb and noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a verb and noun, with the sense "to drive back or fend off; to cause distaste or revulsion in". English derivatives include repulser; related forms include repulsion, repulsive, and repel. The result is an English verb and noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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