Repel

How to spell repel

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce repel

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does repel mean?

1. verbTo drive or force something back, or to keep it away.
2. verbTo cause strong feelings of dislike or disgust in someone.

Repel in a sentence

• The troops managed to repel the sudden attack on the bridge.

• The smell of the rotting food began to repel everyone in the kitchen.

• This spray is designed to repel mosquitoes for several hours.

• His rude behaviour at dinner seemed to repel the other guests.

Where does repel come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb repellere, which combined re-, meaning 'back', with pellere, meaning 'to drive, push, or thrust'. The literal sense was therefore 'to drive back', as in pushing away an attacking force. English took it on in the 1400s, at first in the military sense of beating back an enemy, and later it broadened to mean causing strong distaste or resisting a substance such as water. The same pellere root drives a whole family of English verbs, including propel, compel, expel and dispel, and even the noun pulse, all of which carry the idea of pushing. Knowing that the core is the single root 'pel' helps explain why repel keeps just one l in the base form, even though the doubled ll returns in repelled and repelling.

How the word is built

• re- (back)
• pel (drive/push, from Latin pellere)