rebuff
Americannoun
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rebuffs
plural
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a blunt or abrupt rejection, as of a person making advances.
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a peremptory refusal of a request, offer, etc.; snub.
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a check to action or progress.
verb (used with object)
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rebuffs,
present (3rd person singular)
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rebuffed,
past participle, past
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rebuffing
present participle
verb
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to snub, reject, or refuse (a person offering help or sympathy, an offer of help, etc) abruptly or out of hand
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to beat back (an attack); repel
noun
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a blunt refusal or rejection; snub
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any sudden check to progress or action
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rebuffsimple
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rebuffssimple
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have rebuffedperfect
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has rebuffedperfect
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am rebuffingprogressive
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are rebuffingprogressive
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is rebuffingprogressive
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have been rebuffingperfect progressive
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has been rebuffingperfect progressive
Past
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rebuffedsimple
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had rebuffedperfect
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was rebuffingprogressive
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were rebuffingprogressive
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had been rebuffingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rebuff
1580–90; < Middle French rebuffer < Italian ribuffare to disturb, reprimand, derivative of ribuffo (noun), equivalent to ri- re- + buffo puff; see buffoon
Explanation
If you rebuff someone, you reject or snub him. You might decide to rebuff a classmate's invitation to the dance after hearing him gossip meanly about a friend. Although the verb rebuff is a somewhat old fashioned one to use for social relationships, it's still common in the world of diplomacy. One country's rebuff of another might start a war, or end peace talks, or otherwise reverberate through the world of international relations. You can also use rebuff as a noun — deliberately ignoring your sister's text message is one example of a rebuff. The Italian root word, ribuffo, combines ri, expressing opposition, and buffo, "a puff."
Vocabulary lists containing rebuff
Dissed List: Breakup Words for Valentine's Day
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A Raisin in the Sun
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This Week in Words: December 30, 2017 - January 5, 2018
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The head of Universal’s largest shareholder, the Bollore Group, had also urged the company to rebuff the offer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Taiwan rolled out the red carpet for Paraguay President Santiago Pena on Friday, as the democratic island shores up ties with its only South American ally in a rebuff to China's diplomatic pressure.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
And those limits create a “judicial responsibility” for courts to rebuff the president when he deploys the Guard “in a situation far divorced” from what Congress envisioned.
From Slate ● Oct. 21, 2025
Discovery board to rebuff the offer, sources said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2025
The only ways in which I felt that my feelings could go outward without fear of rude rebuff or searing reprisal was in writing or reading, and to me they were ways of living.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
New Palace manager Pierre Sage will hope the club rebuffs any potential suitors.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Even though Davis is repeatedly asked who will take over from Rufus, she rebuffs the question.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
At the beginning of the film, Mr. Banks rebuffs his children when they ask him to repair their kite.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
Her staff rebuffs those proposals, saying the vice president is not visiting as a spouse but as the second-ranking official of the United States, according to current and former White House officials.
From New York Times ● Feb. 6, 2023
And as a few strokes on the nose will make a puppy head shy, so a few rebuffs will make a boy shy all over.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Washington has rebuffed any talk of a deal being reached.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Anglo American is in the midst of a major shake-up of its portfolio that began after it rebuffed a nearly $50 billion hostile takeover bid from bigger rival BHP in 2024.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Apollo's move came after Castlelake had made a series of offers for EasyJet, which had initially been rebuffed by the carrier after it accused the US firm of trying to buy it "on the cheap".
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
In 2014, he was rebuffed in his $80-billion bid to beef up his 21st Century Fox by buying HBO, CNN and other Time Warner assets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
“That’s Manderley,” she said, and I remember coming out of the shop feeling rebuffed, yet hardly wiser than before.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
After rebuffing Pfizer’s $120 billion takeover bid in 2014, he steadily transformed AstraZeneca into one of the drug industry’s top growth stories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
American Airlines late Friday took the unusual step of rebuffing a merger before it was even made.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 20, 2026
YouTube, meanwhile, has likened itself to television during the trial, rebuffing the idea of equating it with online social media platforms.
From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026
Pyongyang has upped the ante in recent weeks, with leader Kim Jong Un's sister rebuffing efforts towards reconciliation made by Lee's government.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2025
He was angry with Desdemona for rebuffing him and he was angry at himself for being angry at her, because he knew she was right.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
