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PlainSpell

repel

re·pel/ɹɪˈpɛl/verb

repel is a verb meaning “To reject, put off (a request, demand etc.)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled R-E-P-E-L and has 2 syllables (re·pel), and it appears 1.6 times per million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data).

What does repel mean?

verb

  1. 1

    archaicTo turn (someone) away from a privilege, right, job, etc.

  2. 2

    To reject, put off (a request, demand etc.).

  3. 3

    To ward off (a malignant influence, attack etc.).

  4. 4

    To drive back (an assailant, advancing force etc.).

  5. 5

    To force away by means of a repulsive force.

  6. 6

    To cause repulsion or dislike in; to disgust.

  7. 7

    To save (a shot).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you pronounce repel?

  • /ɹɪˈpɛl/

Repel has 2 syllables, split re·pel in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-repel.ogg, En-au-repel.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of repel

  • repels present, singular, he/she/it
  • repelling participle, present
  • repelled participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How common is repel?

Repel appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,362nd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

Repel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchrebuter, repousser (to put off)
Germanzurückweisen, abweisen (to put off), abwehren (to ward off), zurückdrängen, zurückwerfen (to drive away)
Portugueserepelir (physics: to force away)
Spanishrepeler (physics: to force away)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does repel come from?

From Middle English repellen, a borrowing from Old French *repeller, from Latin repellere (“to drive back”), from re- (“back”) + pellere (“to drive”). Doublet of repeal.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).