repulse
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L326673 on Wikidata ↗verb
- to repel and/or disgust
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈpʌls/
noun
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin repulsus, from repellere (“to drive back”), from re- (“back”) + pellere (“to drive”). For spelling, as in pulse, the -e (on -lse) is so the end is pronounced /ls/, rather than /lz/ as in pulls, and does not change the vowel (‘u’). Compare else, false, convulse.
- The act of repulsing or the state of being repulsed.
- Refusal, rejection or repulsion.
verb
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin repulsus, from repellere (“to drive back”), from re- (“back”) + pellere (“to drive”). For spelling, as in pulse, the -e (on -lse) is so the end is pronounced /ls/, rather than /lz/ as in pulls, and does not change the vowel (‘u’). Compare else, false, convulse.
- To repel or drive back.
“to repulse an assault; to repulse the enemy”
“If we fail to repulse the enemy within the gates--unemployment, poverty, disorganized agriculture and the like--from whence may we expect the united strength and clear purpose to repulse any outside force?”
- To reject or rebuff.
“to repulse a suitor”
“At the end of a week, she could bear the suspense no longer, and so went humbly to her old home and sought forgiveness. She was not repulsed, but her reception was cold; and this hurt her almost as badly.”
- To cause revulsion in; to repel.
“The smell of rotting food repulsed me.”
“I find your conduct reprehensible, disgusting, and it repulses me, the way a mongoose repulses a snake.”