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“Rappel” or “Repel”

rappel / repel are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term.

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Definitions

What each term means

Same sound, different spellings and meanings, shown with a pronunciation guide for each term.

rappel

  • noun(mountaineering) a descent of a vertical cliff or wall made by using a doubled rope that is fixed to a higher point and wrapped around the body.
  • verblower oneself with a rope coiled around the body from a mountainside.

repel r·ih·p·EH·l

  • verbcause to move back by force or influence.
  • verbbe repellent to; cause aversion in.
  • verbforce or drive back.
Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“rappel”

  • …by Jean-François Millet and Le rappel des glaneuses (1859) by Jules…

“repel”

  • …the government has vowed to repel the colonial era law criminalizing…
  • …to defend the city and repel Bedouin attacks.
  • …machine guns, using them to repel attackers hidden in the dense…
  • …to return to Lisbon to repel a British invasion.
  • …to fill the gap and repel the attack.
  • The defenders successfully repel the attacks, first on the…
  • …marines stayed on board to repel an attack should the French…
  • After helping to repel the Seymour Expedition – a…
  • …smoother, unscalable surface to help repel attackers.
  • …aircraft were mainly used to repel Soviet bombers.

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions are drawn from WordNet.

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