repulsive

adjective re·pul·sive \ ri-ˈpəl-siv \

|Updated on: 18 Jul 2018

Examples: repulsive in a Sentence

Definition of repulsive

1 : serving or able to repulse

repulsive force

2 : tending to repel or reject : cold, forbidding

3 : arousing aversion or disgust

repulsive crimes

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repulsively

adverb

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repulsiveness

noun

See repulsive defined for English-language learners

See repulsive defined for kids

Examples of repulsive in a Sentence

Magnets have a repulsive effect on each other.
a repulsive display of shameless flattery that made the embarrassed actor wrinkle his nose in disgust

Recent Examples of repulsive from the Web

And this repulsive encounter is worse than unhygienic: those feces spread microscopic parasites that cause Chagas disease.

— katherine j. wu, Smithsonian, "How Tiny Trackers Could Help Humans Avoid Kissing Bugs’ Deadly Smooch," 9 July 2018
Giving him any money to rebuild his country would be doubly repulsive.

— The Economist, "Syrian refugees could turn into the new Palestinians," 30 June 2018
Annie is a complicated character, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes outright repulsive.

— tasha robinson, The Verge, "Ari Aster’s breakout horror hit Hereditary is pants-wettingly scary," 8 June 2018
On the face of it, the argument that society should be rearranged to accommodate these men is so repulsive that it should not be entertained.

— jennifer wright, Harper's BAZAAR, "Men Don't Have a Right to Sex," 4 May 2018
Durian are just about synonymous with their repulsive odor, which (to be fair) has whiffs of sweetness that are immediately overwhelmed by notes of corrosion and rancid egg.

— melinda morris, NOLA.com, "Who boils the best crawfish in metro New Orleans? It's the last day to vote," 30 Apr. 2018
Even those who found his words repulsive were mesmerized by him.

— naomi fry, The New Yorker, "How American Racism Influenced Hitler," 23 Apr. 2018
The same agenda that’s so repulsive to the campaigners has drawn praise from President Trump and much of his base.

— umair irfan, Vox, "Outrage from environmentalists will only boost Pruitt’s standing in Trump’s orbit.," 30 Mar. 2018
The animal experiments in the study are superfluous and repulsive.

— jack ewing, New York Times, "German Carmakers Criticized for Emissions Research on Monkeys," 28 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'repulsive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.