REPULSIVE Synonyms: 128 Similar and Opposite Words

repulsive

adjective

ri-ˈpəl-siv

Definition of repulsive

as in disgusting

causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment a repulsive display of shameless flattery that made the embarrassed actor wrinkle his nose in disgust

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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 repulsive By their very nature, hydrogen atoms tend to be electrically repulsive to each other. — Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 19 July 2026 These compounds have a strong, pungent odor that many insects, including grubs, find repulsive. — Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 11 July 2026 The corpse stink was, at first, slightly too repulsive to unleash on the Field Museum’s unsuspecting visitors, so it was toned down slightly. — Rj MacKenzie, Popular Science, 11 June 2026 This provision is equally repulsive. — Austin Elias-De Jesus, New Yorker, 3 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for repulsive

Recent Examples of Synonyms for repulsive

Adjective

That’s likely to inspire either affection or immediate exhaustion, depending on your fondness for the infamously disgusting performance group.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026
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

Definition of disgusting

Adjective

Without all that, the series misses out on the ugly, earthy, sensual details that could have complicated her past blank innocence.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2026
Earlier this season, the Seahawks coach described a dispute with Payton that got ugly enough for Seattle to threaten a lawsuit.

— Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of ugly

Adjective

Hersh was held hostage for 328 sickening, agonizing, and starving days until his captors executed him with five other young and luminous people in a tunnel underneath Gaza.

— Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Time, 6 Oct. 2026
The idea of my dad’s enduring intense treatments and sickening side effects for the rest of his life was dreadful.

— Trisha Thadani Kirsten Potter Tanya Pérez Devin Murphy, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of sickening

Adjective

When Moore left the game after an awful hit from a USC linebacker, Raiola stepped up and looked even better.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026
But coming off the back of that, there was all of this legislation that was pretty awful and generally, there were a lot of homophobic attitudes, still quite extreme, even as late as the 1990s.

— Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 9 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

Alabama has been busily demonstrating that the reverse is true, following a string of hideous botched lethal injection executions with a series of no less gruesome executions with nitrogen suffocation.

— Maya Foa, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
This puzzle is stuffed with nuance, pleasing crosses and a lot of simply terrific, ridiculously evocative stuff — for example, a jarring assortment of lovely trivia intersecting with some hideous ailments at more than one juncture.

— Caitlin Lovinger, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of hideous

Browse Nearby Words

repulsions

repulsive

repulsiveness

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“Repulsive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/repulsive. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of repulsive

adjective

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