noun

repugnance

rih-PUG-nuns/rɪˈpʌɡnəns/

A strong feeling of disgust or aversion.

She turns away in repugnance at the sight of mold.

A Black woman recoiling with nose wrinkled from a small dish of spoiled food, clear disgust, natural expression.

Etymology

reLatinback

+pugnLatinfight

+anceLatinstate or quality

The image is “fighting back”: resistance or opposition. Repugnance shifted from incompatibility and opposition to an inward resistance—a feeling of strong dislike or aversion.

In context

Enhanced Public Domain309:15

I could not collect the courage to recommence my work I feared the Vengeance of the disappointed fiend yet I was unable to overcome my repugnance to the task which was enjoined me

1800s Fiction Audiobook: Mary Shelley - Frankenstein

More examples

His casual cruelty fills me with repugnance.
She feels a deep repugnance toward unnecessary violence.
He hides his repugnance as he empties the filthy trash can.

Forms

repugnant adjective — Causing strong feelings of disgust or aversion.

Similar words

disgust: More common in everyday speech, especially for physically unpleasant things.
aversion: Emphasizes dislike and avoidance, without necessarily suggesting intense disgust.
revulsion: Often suggests a sudden, forceful reaction of disgust.