Repugnancies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Feelings of intense distaste or revulsion toward something ; objectionable qualities or features that provoke strong disgust
2. Deep feelings of loathing or repulsion felt toward a thing ; the offensive traits or aspects that arouse intense displeasure
3. Intense aversion or disgust felt at something ; the repellent characteristics of people or things that cause revulsion

Etymology: The plural "repugnancies" is simply the plural of "repugnancy," so the real story belongs to the singular. It comes from Latin "repugnantia," a noun built from "repugnare," meaning "to fight against" or "to resist," which joined "re-" (back, against) to "pugnare" (to fight). The same root gives "pugnacious," so a repugnancy is, at root, a kind of combat between two things that will not agree. English took the word in Middle English, where the form "repugnancie" shows it arriving from Latin with its fighting sense intact. Its close relative "repugnance" entered the language by a parallel route and is a doublet of it, meaning the two came into English as separate borrowings from the same Latin source. "Repugnancy" was then shaped in English on the model of "repugnant" plus the suffix "-cy," which is why it can look like a native formation even though its heart is Latin.

Synonyms: repugnance, aversion, antipathy, loathing, revulsion

Antonyms: affinity, attraction, liking, fondness