as in dismissal
treatment that is deliberately unfriendly
the waiter's incredibly rude repulse of our polite request for a better table—one that wasn't right next to the kitchen—prompted us to walk out
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to disgust
to cause to feel disgust
the smell of that town's paper mill totally repulses me
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to repel
to drive back
the defense repeatedly repulsed all of the offense's attempts to move the ball forward, keeping them firmly planted on the 20-yard line
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of repulse
Washington Post, 19 Feb. 2021
Yet Mr Trump’s decision to change course represents neither a disastrous retreat nor a major moral repulse.
—The Economist, 23 June 2018
David Axe, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
Dexter is repulsed by the whole scene, and really who can blame him?
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for repulse
Noun
Stories about chemical and biological weapons are often oversold, for the same reason stories of cannibalistic serial killers are: Peculiar forms of murder repulse and excite us, and old-fashioned forms do not.
—Washington Post, 19 Feb. 2021
Yet Mr Trump’s decision to change course represents neither a disastrous retreat nor a major moral repulse.
—The Economist, 23 June 2018
Verb
Today, Ukrainian troops repulsed yet another attack by the 810th Naval Infantry Brigade around Pogrebki, the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies reported.
—David Axe, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
Dexter is repulsed by the whole scene, and really who can blame him?
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for repulse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for repulse
Noun
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Anti-SLAPP laws are statutes that provide a substantive right of a person to an early dismissal of causes of action brought against them with the effect of silencing or punishing their First Amendment (and corresponding state constitutional) rights to freedom of speech and to petition.—
Jay Adkisson,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2025
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Strickland also revealed that other WWE personnel had informed him this member had generated significant backstage heat, likely contributing to their collective dismissal.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
In her discussion of Christianity, King relishes the absurdity that results when a religion that is disgusted by female sexuality also engages in mother worship.—
S. C. Cornell,
The New Yorker,
12 Mar. 2025
-
Once again, DeSantis has gone too far — in this case, ideologically and geographically — and people who surely voted for him in the state’s most conservative region are disgusted.—
Steve Bousquet,
Sun Sentinel,
1 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Wool Rugs Wool rugs maintain their shape and texture more easily than any synthetic blend due to their durable fiber quality, which also naturally repels dirt and dust.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
20 Mar. 2025
-
Humans aren’t the only ones repelled by penguin poo, however.—
Monica Cull,
Discover Magazine,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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This was done by using the slender bridges to form triangles, a rigid shape found in engineering and architecture to resist bending and warping.—
Anthony DeMarco,
Forbes.com,
1 Apr. 2025
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The sturdy plastic housings resist fading and cracking and are brown in color to blend with most outdoor surfaces.—
Miles Walls,
Better Homes & Gardens,
31 Mar. 2025
Noun
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After mulling a proposal from the leaders of the men’s and women’s tennis tours to restructure the sport, the people in charge of the four Grand Slams have sent back a terse rejection that leaves the sport’s future in a state of paralysis.—
Matthew Futterman,
The Athletic,
21 Mar. 2025
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There are other factors that determine the acceptance or rejection of radical change.—
Gary Franks,
Hartford Courant,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The measles outbreak, which has killed two people to date and sickened nearly 260 across three states, represents the first time Kennedy has had to reckon with his past as a longtime critic of vaccines and his new leadership of the federal health establishment.—
Nathaniel Weixel,
The Hill,
13 Mar. 2025
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For the first time in a decade, someone in the U.S. has died from measles — an unvaccinated child in Texas caught up in an outbreak that has sickened more than 120 other people.—
Susan Kressly,
Orlando Sentinel,
8 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
No snub deserved to get into the tournament more than the Mountaineers.—
Joe Kozlowski,
Newsweek,
16 Mar. 2025
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See the full list of nominees here — and some notable snubs here.—
Lucia Suarez Sang,
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Dismay or appall you, sure, but never surprise you.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Dec. 2024
-
That kind of appalls me to think that people need not expect that of themselves.—
David Marchese Photograph by Mamadi Doumbouya,
New York Times,
15 Feb. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Repulse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/repulse. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.
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