Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

repulse

/ɹɪˈpʌls/ noun

In Latin: repellō, prōturbō Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about repulse at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

An instance of driving away or warding off.

verb

Force or drive back.
repel the attacker
Be repellent to; cause aversion in.
Cause to move back by force or influence.
repel the enemy

Origin

Inherited from Middle English repulsen, a learned borrowing from Latin repulsus, from repellō. For spelling, as in pulse, the -e (on -lse) is so the end is pronounced /ls/, rather than /lz/ as in pulls, and does not change the vowel (‘u’). Compare else, false, convulse.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word