repugnant

adjective

re·​pug·​nant ri-ˈpəg-nənt 

1

: incompatible, inconsistent

2

archaic : hostile

3

: exciting distaste or aversion

repugnant language

a morally repugnant practice

repugnantly adverb

Synonyms

• abhorrent
• abominable
• appalling
• awful
• disgusting
• distasteful
• dreadful
• evil
• foul
• fulsome
• gross
• hideous
• horrendous
• horrible
• horrid
• loathsome
• nasty
• nauseating
• nauseous
• noisome
• noxious
• obnoxious
• obscene
• odious
• offensive
• rancid
• repellent
• repellant
• repulsive
• revolting
• scandalous
• shocking
• sickening
• ugly

Examples of repugnant in a Sentence

technically speaking, it may not be a violation, but it is certainly repugnant to the spirit of the law

Recent Examples on the Web

Eugenics was debunked as both biologically unsound and morally repugnant decades ago, but Donald Trump has repackaged its key lies to appeal to 21st-century American anxieties. —Arthur Caplan, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2024

Of all the repugnant statements that Trump and his allies have made, the most revealing may have come from Vance. —Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024

The war in Ukraine is just the most recent example of a fight that grinds on not because of strategic dilemmas alone but because both sides find the idea of settlement repugnant. —Christopher Blattman, Foreign Affairs, 29 Nov. 2022

But even the idea of it is repugnant to some Afghan women, like Sahar Fetrat, an Afghan feminist and researcher with Human Rights Watch. —Fariba Akbari, NPR, 12 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, opposed, contradictory, incompatible, from Anglo-French, from Latin repugnant-, repugnans, present participle of repugnare to fight against, from re- + pugnare to fight — more at pungent

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

repugnant

adjective

re·​pug·​nant ri-ˈpəg-nənt 

1

: incompatible sense 1

2

: causing a feeling of dislike or disgust : repulsive

repugnantly adverb

Legal Definition

repugnant

adjective

re·​pug·​nant ri-ˈpəg-nənt 

: characterized by contradiction and irreconcilability

the arbitrator's decision was not repugnant to the Act

—M. A. Kelly