repulse

See also: repulsé

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

    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.

    Verb

    repulse (third-person singular simple present repulses, present participle repulsing, simple past and past participle repulsed)

    1. (transitive) To repel or drive back.
      to repulse an assault; to repulse the enemy
      • 1939 December 5, J. W. Studebaker, Democracy Shall Not Be Plowed Under‎[1], page 9:
        If we fail to repulse the enemy within the gates--unemployment, poverty, disorganized agriculture and the like--from whence may we expect the united strength and clear purpose to repulse any outside force?
    2. (transitive) To reject or rebuff.
      to repulse a suitor
      • 1850, T. S. Arthur, “Happy on a Little”, in Sketches of Life and Character‎[2], Philadelphia: J. W. Bradley, →OCLC, page 89:
        At the end of a week, she could bear the suspense no longer, and so went humbly to her old home and sought forgiveness. She was not repulsed, but her reception was cold; and this hurt her almost as badly.
    3. (transitive) To cause revulsion in; to repel.
      The smell of rotting food repulsed me.
      I find your conduct reprehensible, disgusting, and it repulses me, the way a mongoose repulses a snake.
    Derived terms
    Translations

    Etymology 2

      Inherited from Middle English repulse, borrowed from Old French repulse, from Latin repulsa (petītiō), from repellō.

      Noun

      repulse (plural repulses)

      1. The act of repulsing or the state of being repulsed.
      2. Refusal, rejection or repulsion.

      Further reading

      Anagrams

      Italian

      Etymology 1

      Verb

      repulse

      1. third-person singular past historic of repellere

      Etymology 2

      Participle

      repulse f pl

      1. feminine plural of repulso

      Noun

      repulse

      1. plural of repulsa

      Anagrams

      Latin

      Participle

      repulse

      1. vocative masculine singular of repulsus

      Spanish

      Verb

      repulse

      1. inflection of repulsar:
        1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
        2. third-person singular imperative
      This page is issued from Wiktionary. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.