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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
repellent
I.adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
insect repellent (=a chemical to keep insects away)
▪ If you go camping, you should take some insect repellent.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ All of which leaves many observers wondering what on earth is the appeal of such violent, repellent music.
▪ Can he find me as repellent as I find him?
▪ I flip through more repellent photos.
▪ Lloyd George, in particular, was an unfailing source of repellent fascination to him.
▪ So what do you do if you wish people to work harder, faster, under conditions repellent to them?
▪ The embalmers' perfume filled the room, tinged with a slight sourness which smelt repellent.
▪ The steps were repellent to Tom, but Marge thought them very romantic.
▪ The well at her monastery was said to have repellent properties against rodents.
II.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
insect
▪ I glued up the cat flap. 1 sprayed the letter box with insect repellent.
▪ So as soon as the bamboos were skinned, the fishermen coated them with a natural insect repellent.
▪ Vic says not to worry - did I think Father Firmin had insect repellent all those years ago?
▪ To protect people from being bitten they must be educated and persuaded to use insect repellents and mosquito nets.
▪ I never went out without my insect repellent and waterproof sunblock.
▪ Good pine shavings are best as they contain resin, which also acts as an insect repellent.
▪ So use a good insect repellent and remember to keep re-applying it.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ mosquito repellent
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ But my purse contained torch, mosquito repellent, passport and all the papers needed to subdue bureaucrats from here to Delhi.
▪ Morton Salt is a great flea repellent.
▪ Sam has bug repellent all over him.
▪ So as soon as the bamboos were skinned, the fishermen coated them with a natural insect repellent.
▪ The writer was wearing a bulletproof vest and had brass knuckles and chemical repellent in other pockets.
▪ Vic says not to worry - did I think Father Firmin had insect repellent all those years ago?
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Repellent

Repellent \Re*pel"lent\ (-lent), a. [L. repellens, -entis, p. pr. ] Driving back; able or tending to repel.

Repellent

Repellent \Re*pel"lent\, n.

  1. That which repels.

  2. (Med.) A remedy to repel from a tumefied part the fluids which render it tumid.
    --Dunglison.

  3. A kind of waterproof cloth.
    --Knight.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
repellent

also repellant, 1640s, from Latin repellentem (nominative repelens), present participle of repellere (see repel). Originally of medicines (that reduced tumors); meaning "distasteful, disagreeable" first recorded 1797.

repellent

also repellant, 1660s, "medicine that reduces tumors," from repellent (adj.). As "substance that repels insects," 1908.

Wiktionary
repellent

a. 1 tending or able to repel; driving back 2 repulsive, inspiring aversion 3 resistant or impervious to something n. 1 someone who repels 2 a substance used to repel insects 3 a substance or treatment for a fabric etc to make it impervious to something

WordNet
repellent
  1. adj. serving or tending to repel; "he became rebarbative and prickly and spiteful"; "I find his obsequiousness repellent" [syn: rebarbative, repellant]

  2. highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust; "a disgusting smell"; "distasteful language"; "a loathsome disease"; "the idea of eating meat is repellent to me"; "revolting food"; "a wicked stench" [syn: disgusting, disgustful, distasteful, foul, loathly, loathsome, repellant, repelling, revolting, skanky, wicked, yucky]

  3. incapable of absorbing or mixing with; "a water-repellent fabric"; "plastic highly resistant to steam and water" [syn: resistant]

repellent
  1. n. a compound with which fabrics are treated to repel water [syn: repellant]

  2. a chemical substance that repels animals [syn: repellant]

  3. the power to repel; "she knew many repellents to his advances" [syn: repellant]

Wikipedia
Repellent

Repellent can refer to:

  • Insect repellent
  • Animal repellent
  • Water repellent

Usage examples of "repellent".

As often as the fancy had, compelled by the lady herself, crossed the horizon of his thoughts, a repellent influence from the same source had been at hand to sweep it afar into its antenatal chaos.

Marius had plenty of time to absorb these repellent antics as he stood there waiting for someone to answer his thunderous knock.

It had always seemed to Prince Andrew before that he was antipathetic to the Emperor and that the latter disliked his face and personality generally, and in the cold, repellent glance the Emperor gave him, he now found further confirmation of this surmise.

The advocates of the resurrection should not confine their attention to the repellent or the ludicrous aspects of metempsychosis, but do justice to its claim and its charm.

I noticed the shops selling lucky charms and meteor repellent in the last week or so.

Where to get free head nets and mosquito netting dipped in permethrin, a mosquito repellent harmless to people.

The lips came together like a kiss in a studied pout that Seaver knew should have been repellent but made him wish that Earl were dead.

There was a flat, lifeless quality about it that, without the verve of battlefield blood, spoke of tyranny most repellent and egregious, and yet at the same time petty and self-serving.

The classic repellent for budworms is a squirt of mineral oil, which smothers the worms, applied with a medicine dropper or syringe inserted into the tip of each ear of corn or other budding fruits.

His orange backpack held a tent and rain fly, food and water, extra clothes and rain gear, backpack stove and fuel, mess gear and first-aid kit, rope, flashlight, insect repellent, a Fiberfill sleeping bag and ground cloth, foam pad, and an assortment of other trail necessities.

The rest of the store had shelves and tables that sold canned goods and frypans and fishing gear and toilet paper and insect repellent and souvenir mugs shaped like Smokey the Bear.

Takeovers get sloppy when the sought-after club seeks shark repellent and allies with other gangs to fight off the suitor.

Although most insects - except the tobacco hornworm - avoid eating this plant, it is never mentioned as a repellent plant for the garden.

It can be used as a contact and stomach poison as well as a repellent against flies, roaches, aphids, fleas, thrips, leafhoppers, Whiteflies and some kinds of beetles.

Squirrels are known to line their nests with cedar needles, possibly because of their insect repellent qualities.