You searched for: “rappel”
rappel, repel
rappel (ra PEL) (verb)
To descend a steep slope or vertical face of a mountain, building, or cliff using a rope that is secured at the top and passed through a series of coils or a harness around the body: One of William's hobbies is to rappel down an extreme incline by using a strong double cord fastened above and placed around his physical structure as he moves it out gradually in his descent.
repel (ri PEL) (verb)
1. To ward off or to keep away; to drive back: While camping, Anthony constantly had to repel insects; especially, mosquitoes.
2. To offer resistance to; to fight against: The troops were making efforts to repel an invasion by the terrorists.

In the high adventure story that Stacie was reading, the hero had to rappel down the cliff to warn his friends in time to repel the attack by their enemy.

This entry is located in the following unit: Confusing Words Clarified: Group R; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, Polysemes, etc. + (page 2)