repulse

Meanings

1. To repel or drive back.
2. To reject or rebuff.
3. To cause revulsion in; to repel.

1. The act of repulsing or the state of being repulsed.
2. Refusal, rejection or repulsion.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin repulsus, from repellere (“to drive back”), from re- (“back”) + pellere (“to drive”). For spelling, as in pulse, the -e (on -lse) is so the end is pronounced /ls/, rather than /lz/ as in pulls, and does not change the vowel (‘u’). Compare else, false, convulse.