repulse
See also: repulsé
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin repulsus, from repellere (“to drive back”), from re- (“back”) + pellere (“to drive”).
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.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɹɪˈpʌls/
Verb
repulse (third-person singular simple present repulses, present participle repulsing, simple past and past participle repulsed)
- (transitive) To repel or drive back.
- to repulse an assault; to repulse the enemy
- (transitive) To reject or rebuff.
- to repulse a suitor
- (transitive) To cause revulsion in.
- The smell of rotting food repulsed me.
- I find your conduct reprehensible, disgusting, and it repulses me, the way a mongoose repulses a snake.
Translations
to repel or drive back
|
|
to reject or rebuff
|
|
to cause revulsion
|
|
Noun
repulse (plural repulses)
- the act of repulsing or the state of being repulsed
- refusal, rejection or repulsion
Related terms
- repel
- repellent
- repulsion
- repulsive
- pulse
Further reading
- repulse in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- repulse in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- repulse at OneLook Dictionary Search
Anagrams
- Slurpee, pelures, perules
Italian
Verb
repulse
- third-person singular past historic of repellere
Noun
repulse
- plural of repulso
Anagrams
- preluse
- presule
Latin
Participle
repulse
- vocative masculine singular of repulsus
Spanish
Verb
repulse
- First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of repulsar.
- Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of repulsar.
- Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of repulsar.
- Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of repulsar.