Repel (r-pl), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Repelled (-pld); p. pr. & vb. n. Repelling.] — Webster enters it under “repel”
Etymology: [L. repellere, repulsum; pref. re- re- + pellere to drive. See Pulse a beating, and cf. Repulse, Repeal.]
1. To drive back; to force to return; to check the advance of; to repulse as, to repel an enemy or an assailant. Hippomedon repelled the hostile tide. Pope. They repelled each other strongly, and yet attracted each other strongly. Macaulay.
2. To resist or oppose effectually; as, to repel an assault, an encroachment, or an argument. [He] gently repelled their entreaties. Hawthorne.
Syn. -- Tu repulse; resist; oppose; reject; refuse.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Repel, v. i.
To act with force in opposition to force impressed; to exercise repulsion.
Shades of meaning
Fernald lists repelling only as an antonym, under pleasant.
He lists it without comment; the entries above explain its neighbors.