repugnancy

A look of repugnancy crossed her face when she saw the spoiled food.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Intense dislike or aversion: "repugnancy" refers to a strong feeling of distaste, disgust, or opposition toward something.
   • Inconsistency or contradiction: "repugnancy" also denotes a state of being incompatible, contradictory, or conflicting with something else, especially in logic, law, or ideas.

Usage Examples

• Intense dislike:

  • She felt a deep repugnancy toward the cruel treatment of animals. (She experienced strong disgust and opposition to the cruelty.)
  • His repugnancy for dishonesty made him a trusted colleague. (His strong aversion to lying earned him trust.)

• Inconsistency or contradiction:

  • The repugnancy between the two clauses in the contract caused a legal dispute. (The mutual inconsistency between the clauses led to a conflict.)
  • There is a clear repugnancy in his statements: he claims to support peace but advocates for war. (His views are contradictory.)

Advanced Usage

• "repugnancy of laws": In legal contexts, this refers to a situation where two laws are contradictory, making one invalid or unenforceable.

  • The court ruled that the state law had a repugnancy with federal legislation, so it could not stand. (The state law conflicted with federal law and was struck down.)

• "moral repugnancy": A strong ethical objection to an action or idea.

  • The practice of slavery is universally recognized as a moral repugnancy. (It is widely seen as ethically abhorrent.)

Variants and Related Words

• Repugnant (adj): extremely distasteful or unacceptable; contradictory.
  • His behavior was repugnant to all decent people. (His conduct was highly offensive.)
• Repugnance (n): a synonym for repugnancy, more commonly used in general contexts.
  • The repugnance of the crime shocked the community. (The crime’s disgusting nature caused shock.)

Synonyms

• Aversion: a strong dislike or unwillingness.
• Antipathy: a deep-seated feeling of dislike.
• Incompatibility: the quality of being unable to coexist harmoniously.
• Contradiction: a situation in which two statements or ideas are directly opposed.

Related Idioms

• "to have a repugnancy to": to feel strong dislike or opposition toward something.
  • He has a repugnancy to any form of violence. (He strongly opposes violence.)
• "in repugnancy with": in a state of conflict or contradiction with.
  • The new policy is in repugnancy with the company’s core values. (The policy contradicts the company’s principles.)