repelverb [ T ]
uk/rɪˈpel/us/rɪˈpel/-ll-repel verb [ T ] (FORCE AWAY)
to force something or someone to move away or stop attacking you:
This coat has a special surface that repels moisture.
formal The defenders repelled the attack without losing any men.
specialized physics to have a magnetic field that pushes away something with a similar magnetic field:
Similar poles of magnets repel each other, and opposite poles attract.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Pushing and shoving
- barge
- bring
- bring sb down
- bundle
- dig
- force
- frogmarch
- heave
- jostle
- nudge
- propel
- push
- push off
- push sb/sth over
- ram
- scrum
- shove
- stab
- upend
- wheel
See more results »
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Responding to an attack
repel verb [ T ] (CAUSE STRONG DISLIKE)
People or things that repel you make you feel strongly that you do not want to be near, see, or think about them:
She was repelled by his ugliness.
Her arrogance repels many people.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Inspiring dislike
- aversive
- disgust
- gross
- gross sb out
- gross-out
- ick
- it makes me (want to) puke idiom
- puke
- repulse
- revolt
- sick