From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrepelre‧pel /rɪˈpel/ verb (repelled, repelling) 1 [transitive]AVOID if something repels you, it is so unpleasant that you do not want to be near it, or it makes you feel ill → repulsive The smell repelled him.2 [transitive]PM to make someone who is attacking you go away, by fighting them The army was ready to repel an attack.3 [transitive]PREVENT to keep something or someone away from you a lotion that repels mosquitoes4 [intransitive, transitive] technicalTEEHP if two things repel each other, they push each other away with an electrical force OPP attract Two positive charges repel each other.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
repel• Theirs had been one of those childless, self-absorbing marriages which unconsciously repel attempts at intimacy.• Use cedar or citronella candles to repel biting insects.• Her heavy make-up and cheap perfume repelled him.• I felt polluted, tainted, defiled, unworthy of anyone except Karen, who repelled me.• But this is precisely the kind of war least suited to either deterring or repelling regional aggressions.• Guerrilla fighters were soon able to repel the army's attack.• After repelling the wiles of Tufnell, Wright and Jones ensured that three figures were raised by the close.• Rather than misdirecting attacks, they repel them altogether, as we shall see in the next chapter.• Farmers can make good use of some land while other areas nearby are less attractive, or even repel them.Origin repel (1400-1500) Latin repellere, from pellere “to drive” 