repulsive

CEFRC2

/ɹɪˈpʌlsɪv/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Causing strong dislike or disgust.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Cold; reserved; forbidding.

Examples

  • Many people, even ones who generally like sex, find fetishes repulsive.

  • Death, in whatever form, is repulsive.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
1
Synonyms
4

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Having the capacity to repel.

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

More examples

In context

  • Tom found Mary repulsive.

  • a repulsive smell

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The rotten smell from the trash was so blank that everyone covered their noses.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

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)).