repellent

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word repellent. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word repellent, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say repellent in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word repellent you have here. The definition of the word repellent will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofrepellent, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Etymology

From Latin repellēns. Equivalent to repel +‎ -ent.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ɹəˈpɛlənt/, /ɹɪˈpɛlənt/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /ɹəˈpɛlənt/, /ɹiˈpɛlənt/

Adjective

repellent (comparative more repellent, superlative most repellent)

  1. Repulsive, inspiring aversion.
    The mixture of whey, beetroot juice, and spirulina seems repellent to me.
    • 1978 December 23, Michael Bronski, “Notes and Thoughts by One Gay Man on Pornography and Censorship”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 22, page 11:
      People are rightly and justifiably terrified with our culture. Many aspects of it are destructive and repellant.
    • 2014 April 12, Michael Inwood, “Martin Heidegger: the philosopher who fell for Hitler ”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review)‎, London, page R11:
      Heidegger's repellent political beliefs do not contaminate his philosophical work.
  2. Resistant or impervious to something.
    All that fabric's supposed to be dust-repellent.
    Hyponyms: moisture-repellent, water-repellent
  3. (physics, now rare) Tending or able to repel; driving back.
    These particles exercise a-highly repellent force.

Translations

Noun

repellent (plural repellents)

  1. A substance or solution used to repel insects, dangerous animals, or other pests.
    None of the mosquito repellents we've tried work.
  2. A substance or treatment for a fabric etc to make it impervious to something.
    They applied dirt repellent to the sports car.
  3. (obsolete, more generally) Someone or something that repels.

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

References

Latin

Verb

repellent

  1. third-person plural future active indicative of repellō
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia