as in disgust
a dislike so strong as to cause stomach upset or queasiness
could barely contain her repugnance of frogs and nearly threw up when she found out we'd have to dissect one in science class
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of repugnance
Brianna seems to swing between two moods: intense enthusiasm, intense repugnance.
—
Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025
In fact, the retort could lead people to dangerously belittle the scourge and repugnance of real anti-Semitism.
—Salam Fayyad, Foreign Affairs, 20 June 2024
The series gets darker and more grotesque as the season progresses, and our uncomfortable laughter eventually fades into a grimace of repugnance.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 10 July 2023
Though historically dubious, Thirteentherism is rhetorically useful in mobilizing moral repugnance at chattel slavery to protest present-day prison conditions, as if current abuses aren’t sufficient cause for indignation.
—Sean Wilentz, The New York Review of Books, 1 Dec. 2022
News of Donald Trump’s recent soiree at Mar-a-Lago with Nicholas Fuentes, a man whose repugnance stands in inverse relationship to his intellectual capacity, reminds us that the former and perhaps future president’s ability to attain new levels of notoriety remains impressively undimmed.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 28 Nov. 2022
Police in the United States are not supposed to police ideology, and the repugnance of offensive speech, such as Nazi symbols or overtly racist rhetoric, is not relevant to whether it’s protected under the Constitution, said David Siegel, a professor at New England Law | Boston.
—Danny McDonald, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Aug. 2022
Some combination of awe and repugnance and confusion that she’s spent so many of her obviously prodigious talents spinning stories for men who need their stories spun.
—Monica Hesse, Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2020
The debate still rages, fuelled more by the wisdom of repugnance than by data.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 23 Feb. 2010
Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025
In fact, the retort could lead people to dangerously belittle the scourge and repugnance of real anti-Semitism.
—Salam Fayyad, Foreign Affairs, 20 June 2024
The series gets darker and more grotesque as the season progresses, and our uncomfortable laughter eventually fades into a grimace of repugnance.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 10 July 2023
Though historically dubious, Thirteentherism is rhetorically useful in mobilizing moral repugnance at chattel slavery to protest present-day prison conditions, as if current abuses aren’t sufficient cause for indignation.
—Sean Wilentz, The New York Review of Books, 1 Dec. 2022
News of Donald Trump’s recent soiree at Mar-a-Lago with Nicholas Fuentes, a man whose repugnance stands in inverse relationship to his intellectual capacity, reminds us that the former and perhaps future president’s ability to attain new levels of notoriety remains impressively undimmed.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 28 Nov. 2022
Police in the United States are not supposed to police ideology, and the repugnance of offensive speech, such as Nazi symbols or overtly racist rhetoric, is not relevant to whether it’s protected under the Constitution, said David Siegel, a professor at New England Law | Boston.
—Danny McDonald, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Aug. 2022
Some combination of awe and repugnance and confusion that she’s spent so many of her obviously prodigious talents spinning stories for men who need their stories spun.
—Monica Hesse, Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2020
The debate still rages, fuelled more by the wisdom of repugnance than by data.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 23 Feb. 2010
Recent Examples of Synonyms for repugnance
Noun
-
Along the route, my father would point in disgust at the large Olympic-torch flames dotting the horizon and rising above the acres of palm trees flanking the highway.—
Noo Saro-Wiwa,
The Dial,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Students expressed anger and disgust.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Iran hasn't been hiding its hatred of America.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Also shattered was the community’s shaky sense of security, already strained by wars in the Middle East and what many say is soaring hatred of Jews.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The academy coach echoes Hurzeler’s distaste for the delays that inevitably come with a heightened emphasis on set pieces.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
12 Mar. 2026
-
He was affiliated with people who were open about their distaste with policing in Black communities, Pribisco said, especially in 2021, after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.—
Marta Zherukha,
Miami Herald,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
He wasn’t primarily associated with one genre the way Argento was with horror or Sergio Leone was with Westerns.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
24 Mar. 2026
-
From the palace steps, Her Majesty watched with horror as the whirlwind of the helicopter's blades flattened her flowers and left divots on the lawn.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Repugnance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/repugnance. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
