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repulse - 4 dictionary results

re⋅pulse

  [ri-puhls] verb, -pulsed, -puls⋅ing, noun
Use repulse in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to drive back; repel: to repulse an assailant.
2. to repel with denial, discourtesy, or the like; refuse or reject.
3. to cause feelings of repulsion in: The scenes of violence in the film may repulse some viewers.
–noun
4. the act of repelling.
5. the fact of being repelled, as in hostile encounter.
6. a refusal or rejection.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME < L repulsus, ptp. of repellere to repel

Related forms:
re⋅puls⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
2. rebuff, spurn, shun, snub.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To repulse
re·pulse   (rĭ-pŭls')   
tr.v.   re·pulsed, re·puls·ing, re·puls·es
  1. To drive back; repel.
  2. To rebuff or reject with rudeness, coldness, or denial.
  3. Usage Problem To cause repugnance or distaste in.
n.  
  1. The act of repulsing or the state of being repulsed.
  2. 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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Repulse

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.

Repulse

Re*pulse"\, n. [L. repulsa, fr. repellere, repulsum.]

1. The act of repelling or driving back; also, the state of being repelled or driven back.

By fate repelled, and with repulses tired. --Denham.

He received in the repulse of Tarquin seven hurts in the body. --Shak.

2. Figuratively: Refusal; denial; rejection; failure.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : repulse
Spanish: rechazar,
German: zurückschlagen,
Japanese: 撃退する
More Translations »
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