Meanings
nounrepulsion (countable and uncountable, plural repulsions)
plural repulsions
- countableuncountableAn extreme dislike of something, or hostility to something.
Her voice was friendly enough, but Pincher wasn’t so exhausted or bonkers that he couldn’t see the cold repulsion of her eye.
1960, J. E. Macdonnell, Don't Gimme the Ships, Melbourne: Horwitz Publications, page 381 more example
All this was extraordinarily distasteful to Churchill. It was ugly, gross. Never before had he felt such repulsion when the vicar displayed his characteristic bluntness or coarseness of speech. In the present connexion[…] such talk had been distressingly out of place.
1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC - countableuncountablenatural sciencesThe repulsive force acting between bodies of the same electric charge or magnetic polarity.
Synonyms & antonyms
Opposite
nounthe act of repulsing or repelling an attack; a successful defensive stand
Similar
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinrepulsus
- Late Latinrepulsio, repulsionem
- Middle Frenchrépulsion
- Englishrepulsion
Borrowed from Middle French répulsion, from Late Latin repulsio, repulsionem, from Latin repulsus.
More words from Middle French, Late Latin, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic تَنَافُر, نُفُور
- تَنَافُر (tanāfur)the act of repelling or the condition of being repelled
- نُفُور (nufūr)the act of repelling or the condition of being repelled
- اِشْمِئْزَاز (išmiʔzāz)an extreme dislike of something
- نُفُور (nufūr)an extreme dislike of something
- مَقْت (maqt)an extreme dislike of something
- تَنَافُر (tanāfur)physics: the repulsive force acting between bodies of the same electric charge or magnetic polarity
Bulgarian отблъскване, антипатия
- отблъскване (otblăskvane)the act of repelling or the condition of being repelled
- антипатия (antipatija)an extreme dislike of something
- отблъскване (otblăskvane)physics: the repulsive force acting between bodies of the same electric charge or magnetic polarity
Danish afvikling
- afviklingthe act of repelling or the condition of being repelled
Estonian tõukejõud
- tõukejõudphysics: the repulsive force acting between bodies of the same electric charge or magnetic polarity
German Abstoßung, Abstoßung
- Abstoßungthe act of repelling or the condition of being repelled
- Abstoßungan extreme dislike of something
- Repulsionan extreme dislike of something
- Abscheuan extreme dislike of something
- Abstoßungphysics: the repulsive force acting between bodies of the same electric charge or magnetic polarity
- Repulsionphysics: the repulsive force acting between bodies of the same electric charge or magnetic polarity
Greek απώθηση
- απώθηση (apóthisi)the act of repelling or the condition of being repelled
Hungarian taszítás, eltaszítás
- taszításthe act of repelling or the condition of being repelled
- eltaszításthe act of repelling or the condition of being repelled
- irtózásan extreme dislike of something
- iszonyan extreme dislike of something
- iszonyodásan extreme dislike of something
- taszításphysics: the repulsive force acting between bodies of the same electric charge or magnetic polarity
- taszítóerőphysics: the repulsive force acting between bodies of the same electric charge or magnetic polarity
Irish éaradh
- éaradhthe act of repelling or the condition of being repelled
Māori taiaritanga, taieritanga
- taiaritangathe act of repelling or the condition of being repelled
- taieritangathe act of repelling or the condition of being repelled
- whakariharihaan extreme dislike of something
- ongaongaan extreme dislike of something
- whakarikarikaan extreme dislike of something
- whakahouhouan extreme dislike of something
- kopekopean extreme dislike of something
- whakaweriwerian extreme dislike of something
Romanian repulsie, repulsie
- repulsiethe act of repelling or the condition of being repelled
- repulsiean extreme dislike of something
- dezgustan extreme dislike of something
- respingerephysics: the repulsive force acting between bodies of the same electric charge or magnetic polarity
- reculphysics: the repulsive force acting between bodies of the same electric charge or magnetic polarity
Russian отраже́ние, антипа́тия
- отраже́ние (otražénije)the act of repelling or the condition of being repelled
- антипа́тия (antipátija)an extreme dislike of something
- отвраще́ние (otvraščénije)an extreme dislike of something
- отталкивание (ottalkivanije)physics: the repulsive force acting between bodies of the same electric charge or magnetic polarity
Spanish repulsión, repulsión
- repulsiónthe act of repelling or the condition of being repelled
- repulsiónan extreme dislike of something
- repulsiónphysics: the repulsive force acting between bodies of the same electric charge or magnetic polarity
Tagalog sikway, sikway
- sikwaythe act of repelling or the condition of being repelled
- sikwayphysics: the repulsive force acting between bodies of the same electric charge or magnetic polarity
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
repulsion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/repulsion
MLA
“repulsion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/repulsion. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “repulsion,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/repulsion.
Source: repulsion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.