Link Centre Dictionary

repulsive

re·pul·sive

UK/ɹɪˈpʌlsɪv/ US/riˈpʌlsɪv/ fairly common

adjective

1.

offensive to the mind

  • “an abhorrent deed”
  • “the obscene massacre at Wounded Knee”
  • “morally repugnant customs”
  • “repulsive behavior”
  • “the most repulsive character in recent novels”
Synonyms
Similar
2.

possessing the ability to repel

  • “a repulsive force”
Antonyms
3.

so extremely ugly as to be terrifying

  • “a hideous scar”
  • “a repulsive mask”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French repulsif, from Medieval Latin repulsivus, from Latin repulsus. By surface analysis, repuls(e) + -ive. Compare typologically Polish odpychający (< pchnąć), Russian отта́лкивающий (ottálkivajuščij) (< толкну́ть (tolknútʹ)).

Related words

Word family

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.