repulsion

/ɹɪˈpʌlʃən/

//ɹɪˈpʌlʃən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"repulsion" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“repulsion” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #46,733. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#46,733
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of repelling or the condition of being repelled.

Corpus desk

Index EN-repulsion · repulsion · English

repulsion · rank #46,733 · 14 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #46,733
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH reprocessing

Nearest frequency peer: reprocessing (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “repulsion”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “repulsion” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

repulsion vs repulsive
78% similar
repulsion vs revulsion
89% similar
repulsion vs recursion
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for repulsion
PropertyValue
Headwordrepulsion
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹɪˈpʌlʃən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#46,733
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “repulsion”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).repulsionlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “reprocessing” (#46,732), “resistive” (#46,734), “repaint” (#46,731). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “repulsion” is #46,733. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around repulsion (IPA /ɹɪˈpʌlʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #46,733 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for repulsion, with forms such as "erpulsion", "replusion", and "reppulsion". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "repulsive", "revulsion", "recursion", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French répulsion, from Late Latin repulsio, repulsionem, from Latin repulsus. The correct English form is repulsion, spelled R-E-P-U-L-S-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of repelling or the condition of being repelled.
  2. 2
    An extreme dislike of something, or hostility to something.
  3. 3
    The repulsive force acting between bodies of the same electric charge or magnetic polarity.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how repulsion appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. All this was extraordinarily distasteful to Churchill. It was ugly, gross. Never before had he felt such repulsion when the vicar displayed his characteristic bluntness or coarseness of speech. In the present connexion[…] such talk had been distressingly out of place.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French répulsion, from Late Latin repulsio, repulsionem, from Latin repulsus.

Antonyms

attraction

This word in other languages

repulsión(Español)Abstoßung(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • erpulsion
  • replusion
  • reppulsion
  • repulison
  • repullsion
  • repulsino
  • repulsionn
  • repulsoin
  • repulssion
  • repultion
  • repuslion
  • reuplsion
  • rpeulsion
  • rrepulsion

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of repulsion - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

erpulsion2replusion2reppulsion1repulison2repullsion1repulsino2repulsionn1repulsoin2
Edit distance from "repulsion"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "repulsion"?
"repulsion" is spelled R-E-P-U-L-S-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈpʌlʃən/.
What does "repulsion" mean?
As a noun, "repulsion" means: The act of repelling or the condition of being repelled.
What words are commonly confused with "repulsion"?
"repulsion" is commonly confused with "repulsive", "revulsion", "recursion". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "repulsion"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "repulsion" is /ɹɪˈpʌlʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "repulsion"?
Borrowed from Middle French répulsion, from Late Latin repulsio, repulsionem, from Latin repulsus. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "repulsion", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

resistive#46,734resurgent#46,735seditious#46,765placental#46,699

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

Sophocles14 variantsoverlying14 variantstaxidermy14 variantsMontpelier14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list