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repellent

How can you tell that something is repellent? You dislike it so much, you want nothing to do with it. If something is repellent, it is highly offensive or disgusting.

To correctly pronounce repellent, accent the second syllable: "ruh-PELL-unt." Being repellent is sometimes a good thing, like when you're camping — your water-repellent tent gets you through a rainstorm and bug repellent keeps you free of itchy bites. The word originates from the Old French word repeller, meaning "to drive away, remove."

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: repellent

1
 adjn
serving or tending to repel
a compound with which fabrics are treated to repel water
2
 adj
highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: repellent
1

adj serving or tending to repel

“I find his obsequiousness repellent”
Synonyms:
rebarbative, repellant
unpleasant
disagreeable to the senses, to the mind, or feelings

adj incapable of absorbing or mixing with

“a water-repellent fabric”
Synonyms:
resistant
nonabsorbent, nonabsorptive
not capable of absorbing or soaking up (liquids)

n a compound with which fabrics are treated to repel water

Synonyms:
repellant
Type of:
chemical compound, compound
(chemistry) a substance formed by chemical union of two or more elements or ingredients in definite proportion by weight

n a chemical substance that repels animals

Synonyms:
repellant
Types:
insect repellant, insect repellent, insectifuge
a chemical substance that repels insects
Type of:
chemical compound, compound
(chemistry) a substance formed by chemical union of two or more elements or ingredients in definite proportion by weight

n the power to repel

“she knew many repellents to his advances”
Synonyms:
repellant
Type of:
power, powerfulness
possession of controlling influence
2

adj highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust

“the idea of eating meat is repellent to me”
Synonyms:
disgustful, disgusting, distasteful, foul, loathly, loathsome, repellant, repelling, revolting, skanky, wicked, yucky
offensive
unpleasant or disgusting especially to the senses
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