This is part of the difference between series.
I was editing a client document recently, when I noticed that they used repel instead of repeal. It piqued my interest, so I did some search and discovered that some people confuse the two words. Here’s the difference.
Repel
Repel is a verb that means to drive or force away.
- The car wax repelled the rain from my windshield.
- When I placed the two magnets near each other, the one I was holding repelled the other.
- That bug spray seems to be repelling the mosquitoes.
Be careful not to confuse repel with rappel, which is when you descend from a cliff using a rope.
Repeal
Repeal is also a verb, but it refers to rescinding or revoking something, particularly legislation.
- We organized 400 people to petition city council to repeal their adult video store ban.
- The new prime minister repealed the gun registry the second week she was in office.
A simple trick for remembering this is that repeal has an A in it, and act, as in a legislative act, starts with an A.
Which words do you confuse? Let me know in the comments below.
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