Lewis & Short

rĕpulsa, ae, f. [repello; prop. Part., sc. petitio]; publicists’ t. t.,

  1. I. a refusal, denial, repulse in soliciting for an office: Catonem veteres inimicitiae Caesaris incitant et dolor repulsae, Caes. B. C. 1, 4: omnes magistratus sine repulsā assequi, Cic. Pis. 1, 2; cf.: qui sine repulsā consules facti sunt, id. Agr. 2, 2, 3; so, sine repulsā, id. Planc. 21, 51; and, on the other hand: Laelii unum consulatum fuisse cum repulsā, id. Tusc. 5, 19, 54: repulsam ferre, to be rejected, to lose one’s election, id. de Or. 2, 69, 280; so (the class. technical phrase) id. Phil. 11, 8, 19; id. Att. 5, 19, 3 al.; cf.: a populo repulsam ferre, id. Tusc. 5, 19, 54: repulsam referre, id. Off. 1, 39, 138; cf.: Mamerco praetermissio aedilitatis consulatus repulsam attulit, id. ib. 2, 17, 58: repulsam consulatūs pati, Pac. Pan. Theod. 12: nunciatā fratris repulsā in consulatus petitione, Plin. 7, 36, 36, § 122: turpis repulsa, Hor. Ep. 1, 1, 43: virtus, repulsae nescia sordidae, id. C. 3, 2, 17: repulsam solari, Tac. A. 2, 36: repulsā notatus, Val. Max. 7, 5, 1.
    In plur.: quid ego aedilicias repulsas colligo? Cic. Planc. 21, 52 (cf. shortly before: C. Marius duabus aedilitatibus repulsus): videntur offensionum et repulsarum quasi quandam ignominiam timere et infamiam, id. Off. 1, 21, 71: nobis reliquere pericula, repulsas, judicia, egestatem, Sall. C. 20, 8.
  2. II. Transf., in gen., a rejection, denial, refusal, repulse (mostly poet. and in post-Aug. prose): Echedemus fatigatos tot repulsis Aetolos ad spem revocavit, Liv. 37, 7, 4: posce aliquid; nullam patiere repulsam, Ov. M. 2, 97: elige; nullam patiere repulsam, id. ib. 3, 289; cf.: sint tua vota secura repulsae, id. ib. 12, 199: amor crescit dolore repulsae, id. ib. 3, 395; cf. Veneris, id. ib. 14, 42: longae nulla repulsa morae, no repulse caused by long delays, Prop. 3, 14 (4, 13), 26: in hanc (tristitiam) omnis ira post repulsam revolvitur, Sen. Ira, 2, 6, 2: indignatio repulsae, App. M. 10, p. 255, 35.