repugnant

adjective

ri-ˈpəg-nənt How to pronounce repugnant (audio)
Definition of repugnantnext
1
as in disgusting
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment graffiti that featured absolutely repugnant racial slurs

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inconsistent
not being in agreement or harmony technically speaking, it may not be a violation, but it is certainly repugnant to the spirit of the law

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of repugnant Charlie, Rachel and Mike’s confessions range between youthfully jerky to downright repugnant. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026 Maybe the closest thing the movie has to a thesis comes when one of the contestants flies a drone to the sisters and tries to offer a compromise via a loophole in the rules that could spare all of them, if Grace is willing to make a repugnant sacrifice. — Jada Yuan, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2026 Worse, to erase victims is an attempt to shrink the blast radius of the repugnant abuse and crimes committed. — Monica Lewinsky, Vanity Fair, 26 Feb. 2026 However, some previous instances have been fairly repugnant. — Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for repugnant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for repugnant
  1. disgusting
  2. inconsistent
  3. ugly
  4. conflicting
  5. sickening
  6. awful
  7. horrible
  8. obnoxious
Adjective
  • People tend to think of waste as trash, sewage, slag, manure and other seemingly useless or disgusting substances.
    — Edward D. Melillo, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The better to act out empire’s idea of what disgusting demonic sickness looks like.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of disgusting
Adjective
  • Even the actors’ bodies exhibit the bland greige produced by the high dynamic range of digital cameras and are flattened by the inconsistent lighting that comes from overuse of green screens.
    — Harmon Siegel, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • In Finance​ Give agentic AI fragmented data, inconsistent processes or unclear ownership, and those weaknesses become part of how the technology operates.
    — Ari Widlansky, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of inconsistent
Adjective
  • That's on the heels of a 41-7 blowout at Northwestern that was ugly enough for Deion Sanders to dismiss a handful of players for conduct detrimental to the team days later.
    — Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
  • In a world where (good, bad and ugly) answers and options are available, an employer needs a workforce that understands the business objectives and can weed through the noise to identify and execute the best solution.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of ugly
Adjective
  • Students are transferring three and four times, pros are trying to play ball against college kids, conflicting court decisions have created a fragmented system, one that no one intended.
    — Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Technology that creates extra steps, produces conflicting information or is difficult to use can become an obstacle rather than a solution.
    — Natalie Lemke, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of conflicting
Adjective
  • Beyond the ugly-duckling implications and the patent objectification and humiliation of women, the show’s portrayal of plastic surgery itself struck me as dark and sort of sickening.
    — Jolene Edgar, Allure, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Perhaps the most sickening part of the entire encounter is that both Oleynik and Kravchenko are seen holding the turtle's hatchlings, posing for photos and smiling as if everything is cool.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of sickening
Adjective
  • He was held back by something else, a feeling that some awful truth about his familiar, beloved world was now being revealed to him.
    — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
  • His death was already sudden and awful, and the call was jarring and unexpected.
    — Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of awful
Adjective
  • Hill is a free agent after a horrible injury suffered last season.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Ashley Flynn’s sister, Kayla Keyt, said during her victim statement that her family could not overcome their sense of shock and despair after learning that Flynn betrayed them in such a violent and horrible way.
    — Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of horrible
Adjective
  • Carla is suffering through a press junket for a new spy movie titled The Milliner with her obnoxious co-star, Jeremy (Aaron Tsindos).
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • But others have slammed the effort as a pretentious and obnoxious slog.
    — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of obnoxious

Browse Nearby Words

repugnances
repugnant
repulse
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Repugnant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/repugnant. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of regimen

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All