as in disgust
a dislike so strong as to cause stomach upset or queasiness
could barely contain her repugnance of frogs and nearly threw up when she found out we'd have to dissect one in science class
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Recent Examples of repugnance
Brianna seems to swing between two moods: intense enthusiasm, intense repugnance.
—
Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025
In fact, the retort could lead people to dangerously belittle the scourge and repugnance of real anti-Semitism.
—Salam Fayyad, Foreign Affairs, 20 June 2024
The series gets darker and more grotesque as the season progresses, and our uncomfortable laughter eventually fades into a grimace of repugnance.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 10 July 2023
Though historically dubious, Thirteentherism is rhetorically useful in mobilizing moral repugnance at chattel slavery to protest present-day prison conditions, as if current abuses aren’t sufficient cause for indignation.
—Sean Wilentz, The New York Review of Books, 1 Dec. 2022
News of Donald Trump’s recent soiree at Mar-a-Lago with Nicholas Fuentes, a man whose repugnance stands in inverse relationship to his intellectual capacity, reminds us that the former and perhaps future president’s ability to attain new levels of notoriety remains impressively undimmed.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 28 Nov. 2022
Police in the United States are not supposed to police ideology, and the repugnance of offensive speech, such as Nazi symbols or overtly racist rhetoric, is not relevant to whether it’s protected under the Constitution, said David Siegel, a professor at New England Law | Boston.
—Danny McDonald, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Aug. 2022
Some combination of awe and repugnance and confusion that she’s spent so many of her obviously prodigious talents spinning stories for men who need their stories spun.
—Monica Hesse, Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2020
The debate still rages, fuelled more by the wisdom of repugnance than by data.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 23 Feb. 2010
Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025
In fact, the retort could lead people to dangerously belittle the scourge and repugnance of real anti-Semitism.
—Salam Fayyad, Foreign Affairs, 20 June 2024
The series gets darker and more grotesque as the season progresses, and our uncomfortable laughter eventually fades into a grimace of repugnance.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 10 July 2023
Though historically dubious, Thirteentherism is rhetorically useful in mobilizing moral repugnance at chattel slavery to protest present-day prison conditions, as if current abuses aren’t sufficient cause for indignation.
—Sean Wilentz, The New York Review of Books, 1 Dec. 2022
News of Donald Trump’s recent soiree at Mar-a-Lago with Nicholas Fuentes, a man whose repugnance stands in inverse relationship to his intellectual capacity, reminds us that the former and perhaps future president’s ability to attain new levels of notoriety remains impressively undimmed.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 28 Nov. 2022
Police in the United States are not supposed to police ideology, and the repugnance of offensive speech, such as Nazi symbols or overtly racist rhetoric, is not relevant to whether it’s protected under the Constitution, said David Siegel, a professor at New England Law | Boston.
—Danny McDonald, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Aug. 2022
Some combination of awe and repugnance and confusion that she’s spent so many of her obviously prodigious talents spinning stories for men who need their stories spun.
—Monica Hesse, Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2020
The debate still rages, fuelled more by the wisdom of repugnance than by data.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 23 Feb. 2010
Recent Examples of Synonyms for repugnance
Noun
-
Racine, played by Kara Young, is a beauty in the face but a bullet in the body, ready to attack any and all who shrink back in disgust at the sight of her sister, who is played by Mallori Johnson.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
-
Probably a mixture of disgust for the resource mining and admiration for the use of collective action.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
Monday showed why the Middle East’s generational hatreds are so often treacherous for American presidents.—
Kevin Liptak,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
-
More deeply, San Diego’s Muslims have been puzzling over the roots of the hatred that sent two young men into a holy place with the intent to commit mass murder.—
Roxana Popescu,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
Many users expressed a distaste for the administration's post about the incident.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
28 May 2026
-
In 2019, the first operator in the capital, Jump, expressed distaste that the City Council was considering such a requirement.—
Ariane Lange,
Sacbee.com,
27 May 2026
Noun
-
Nilsson admits to suffering from horror vacui—a fear of empty space, which in her case reads less like a neurotic affliction than like compulsive conviviality.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
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One of the only calendar moments the site leans into is Halloween, where thousands upon thousands of videos flood the platform, from DIY Halloween costume tutorials to full-length horror films, a YouTube spokesman tells me.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Repugnance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/repugnance. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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