Link Centre Dictionary

repulse

re·pulse

UK/ɹəˈpɐls/ US/ɹɪˈpʌls/ rare
verb (3) noun (1)

verb

1.

force or drive back

  • “repel the attacker”
  • “fight off the onslaught”
  • “rebuff the attack”
Synonyms
2.

feel bitter or indignant about

  • “She resents being paid less than her co-workers”
Synonyms
Antonyms
3.

cause to move back by force or influence

  • “repel the enemy”
  • “push back the urge to smoke”
  • “beat back the invaders”
Synonyms
Antonyms

noun

1.

an instance of driving away or warding off

Synonyms

Origin

Inherited from Middle English repulsen, a learned borrowing from Latin repulsus, from repellō. 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.

Phrases

  • repulsor beam
  • repulsor ray

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.