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revulsion
/rɪˈvʌl.ʃən/
strong feeling of disgust
She turned away in revulsion when she saw the horrific scene.
She looked away with a sudden, intense feeling of deep disgust when she saw the terrible sight.
literary
A strong, sudden feeling of disgust, horror, or deep loathing.
The public reacted with revulsion to the news of the corruption scandal.
People felt intense shock and moral disgust when they heard about the corruption news.
Usually expressed with prepositions such as 'at', 'against', or 'towards'.
Collocations
feel revulsionexperience strong disgustrecoil in revulsionpull back physical or emotionally due to extreme disgusta sense of revulsiona feeling of intense loathingrevulsion atdisgust felt toward a specific act or sight
Related Phrases
Pro Tip
Revulsion vs. Repulsion
Use 'revulsion' primarily for intense emotional or moral disgust. Use 'repulsion' for emotional disgust as well as physical forces pushing objects apart (like magnetic repulsion).
Gold Rule
Preposition Pairing
Follow 'revulsion' with 'at', 'towards', or 'against' when specifying the cause of the disgust (e.g., 'revulsion at the crime').
Word Origin
Derived from Late Latin 'revulsio' (a drawing back), from Latin 'revellere' meaning 'to pull back or tear away' (re- 'back' + vellere 'to pull').
Usage Notes
'Revulsion' implies a strong visceral or moral reaction where one emotionally or physically recoils from something offensive, gruesome, or unethical.
Word Breakdown
re-
back or away
prefixvuls
pluck, pull, or tear
root-ion
state or condition
suffixEnglish Dictionary