noun
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the act or an instance of refusing
-
the opportunity to reject or accept; option
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of refusal
First recorded in 1425–75, refusal is from the late Middle English word refusell. See refuse 1, -al 2
Explanation
A refusal is when you absolutely won't do something. A little kid's refusal to eat his broccoli might result in his mother's refusal to take him out for ice cream after dinner. When something is refused, or a person refuses to do something, it's a refusal. There's a stubborn quality to the word refusal, like a defiant child who won't be swayed. There is a legal term called the "right of first refusal," which gives a person an opportunity to buy or do something first, before anyone else has a chance, or to refuse the opportunity. The Latin root word is refundere, "pour back or give back."
Vocabulary lists containing refusal
"The First Day of School," Vocabulary from the short story
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Catching Fire
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poems about parents
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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:
“LA28’s refusal to comply with my Office’s request after years of withholding information that they are contractually obligated to provide to the City of L.A. is unacceptable,” Mejia said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
He added: "As leader I will not accept any exclusion, or refusal to engage with anyone, because of the religious or communal body they are part of."
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Yet alongside that financial retreat, though, there is a more aesthetic refusal taking shape.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
Paralleling the pair’s different formations and aesthetic willfulness, the exhibition emphasizes points of overlap and rejection, sympathy and refusal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
I don’t know why I’d been surprised by Elliot’s flat-out refusal to help, but somehow his words had still cut.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Her doctors responded with the same reassurances about her baby, and the same refusals of her request.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026
As catastrophic as the fires were for those who lost everything, people whose homes remain standing have been exasperated by insurance company refusals to cover the removal of lingering hazardous contaminants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
The report also states that student loan repayments "directly reduce mortgage availability", with many respondents reporting lower borrowing limits, delayed home ownership or mortgage refusals.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
“These refusals represent the FDA’s import program working as intended—preventing potentially unsafe, ineffective or noncompliant products from reaching American consumers,” an FDA spokesperson said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
Finally I tried to reach the important men by telephone, only to receive polite refusals by their secretaries.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
