v., -pelled, -pel·ling, -pels. v.tr.
- To ward off or keep away; drive back: repel insects.
- To offer resistance to; fight against: repel an invasion.
- To refuse to accept; reject: a company that was trying to repel a hostile takeover.
- To turn away from; spurn.
- To cause aversion or distaste in: Your rudeness repels everyone. See synonyms at disgust. See Usage Note at repulse.
- To be resistant to; be incapable of absorbing or mixing with: Oil repels water.
- Physics. To present an opposing force to; push back or away by a force: Electric charges of the same sign repel one another.
- To offer a resistant force to something.
- To cause aversion or distaste: behavior that repels.
[Middle English repellen, from Old French repeller, from Latin repellere : re-, re- + pellere, to drive.]
repeller re·pel'ler n.




