repulsive

See also: répulsive

English

Etymology

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)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈpʌlsɪv/
• enPR: /rĭ-pŭl'sĭv/, /rē-pŭl'sĭv/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

repulsive (comparative more repulsive, superlative most repulsive)

1. Tending to rouse aversion or to repulse; disgusting.

   a repulsive smell

   • 1975, Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Capital. 1848-1875, published 1995, page 267:

     The problem is to strike a balance between, on the one hand, the harsh poverty which still dominated the lives of most working folk, the repulsive physical environment and the moral void which surrounded so many of them, and, on the other, the undoubted general improvement of their conditions and prospects since the 1840s.

2. (physics) Having the capacity to repel.
3. Cold; reserved; forbidding.

Synonyms

• repellent
• similar: disgusting, vile, inappropriate

Antonyms

• (tending to rouse aversion): attractive
• (physics, having the capacity to repel): attractive

Derived terms

• chemorepulsive
• electrorepulsive
• neurorepulsive
• nonrepulsive
• repulsively
• repulsiveness
• unrepulsive

Collocations

with nouns (physics)

• repulsive force
• repulsive interaction
• repulsive potential

Translations

tending to rouse aversion or to repulse

• Albanian: efshtë (sq)
• Bhojpuri: प्रतिकारक (pratikārak)
• Bulgarian: противен (bg) (protiven), отвратителен (bg) (otvratitelen)
• Catalan: repulsiu
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 令人厌恶的

• Czech: odporný (cs)
• Finnish: kuvottava (fi), luotaantyöntävä (fi)
• French: répugnant (fr), repoussant (fr)
• Galician: repulsivo
• German: abstoßend (de), widerlich (de), widerwärtig (de)
• Greek: απωθητικός (el) (apothitikós), αποκρουστικός (el) (apokroustikós)

  Ancient Greek: βδελυρός (bdelurós), βδελυκτός (bdeluktós)

• Hebrew: דּוֹחֶה m (doẖé)
• Hungarian: visszataszító (hu)
• Italian: repellente (it)
• Latin: taeter
• Macedonian: одбивен m (odbiven), одвратен m (odvraten)
• Māori: maninohea, etieti
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: frastøtende, heslig (no), ekkel, motbydelig (no), ufyselig

  Nynorsk: fråstøytande, hesleg, ekkel, motbydeleg, ufyseleg

• Polish: odpychający (pl), odrażający (pl)
• Portuguese: repulsivo (pt)
• Romanian: respingător (ro), dezgustător (ro)
• Russian: отврати́тельный (ru) (otvratítelʹnyj), омерзи́тельный (ru) (omerzítelʹnyj), отта́лкивающий (ru) (ottálkivajuščij)
• Spanish: repulsivo (es)
• Swedish: motbjudande (sv)
• Turkish:

  Ottoman Turkish: طاتسز (tatsız), ناخوش (nahoş), لذتسز (lezzetsiz)

• Ukrainian: відра́зливий (vidrázlyvyj)

physics: having the capacity to repel

• Catalan: repulsiu
• Czech: odpudivý
• Finnish: hylkivä (fi)
• German: abweisend (de)
• Greek: απωστικός (el) (apostikós)
• Hungarian: taszító (hu)
• Italian: repellente (it)
• Macedonian: одбивен (odbiven)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: frastøtende

• Portuguese: repulsivo (pt)
• Russian: отта́лкивающий (ru) (ottálkivajuščij)
• Spanish: repulsivo (es)

Anagrams

• prelusive, pulverise

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /re.pulˈsi.ve/
• Rhymes: -ive
• Hyphenation: re‧pul‧sì‧ve

Adjective

repulsive

1. feminine plural of repulsivo