To rebuff or reject with rudeness, coldness, or denial.
Usage Problem To cause repugnance or distaste in.
n.
The act of repulsing or the state of being repulsed.
Rejection; refusal.
[Middle English repulsen, from Latin repellere, repuls-; see repel.]
re·puls'er n.
Usage Note: A number of critics have maintained that repulse should only be used to mean "to drive away, spurn," as in He rudely repulsed their overtures, and not to mean "to cause repulsion in," as in Their hypocrisy repulsed me. In recent years, however, there has been an increasing tendency to use repulse in the latter sense. Reputable literary precedent exists for this usage, and given that the stigmatized use of repulse is parallel to the unexceptionable uses of repulsion and repulsive, the frequency of its appearance is not surprising. Still, writers who want to avoid repulse may choose repel, a synonym that is perfectly acceptable.
Re**pel"\ (r?-p?l"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Repelled (-p?ld"); p. pr. & vb. n. Repelling.] [L. repellere, repulsum; pref. re- re- + pellere to drive. See Pulse a beating, and cf. Repulse, Repeal.]1. To drive back; to force to return; to check the advance of; to repulse as, to repel an enemy or an assailant. Hippomedon repelled the hostile tide. --Pope. They repelled each other strongly, and yet attracted each other strongly. --Macaulay. 2. To resist or oppose effectually; as, to repel an assault, an encroachment, or an argument. [He] gently repelled their entreaties. --Hawthorne. Syn: Tu repulse; resist; oppose; reject; refuse.
Re*pulse"\ (r?-p?ls"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Repulsed (-p?lst"); p. pr. & vb. n. Repulsing.] [L. repulsus, p. p. of repellere. See Repel.]1. To repel; to beat or drive back; as, to repulse an assault; to repulse the enemy. Complete to have discovered and repulsed Whatever wiles of foe or seeming friend. --Milton. 2. To repel by discourtesy, coldness, or denial; to reject; to send away; as, to repulse a suitor or a proffer.
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