rebuff
Americannoun
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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.
-
a check to action or progress.
verb (used with object)
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:
Cyrille Bollore, chief executive of top UMG shareholder the Bollore Group BOL 0.83%increase; green up pointing triangle , had urged the company to rebuff the offer, arguing that Ackman’s proposal undervalued it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
They are seen as North Korea's latest rebuff of South Korea's peace overtures, according to analysts.
From Barron's ● Apr. 8, 2026
The Miss Universe Organisation on Tuesday put out a statement to rebuff Mr Harfouch's claims, saying that "no external group has been authorised to evaluate delegates or select finalists".
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025
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
I said at last after a direct rebuff, “Harth, I’ve said something wrong again, please tell me what it is.”
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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
Folky fingerpicking and new-agey thoughts about self-help make “Deeper Well” one of the gentlest but firmest rebuffs imaginable.
From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2024
Shakespeare’s tragedy is rearranged in a way that rebuffs careful inspection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2024
My zeal made me forget these rebuffs, for I was sure that an atmosphere of trust would be created as soon as I had explained my project to them.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
A former Nigerian government official told AFP that when Abuja rebuffed US overtures to take in Venezuelans last year, "we knew there would be consequences".
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
She said she has attempted to connect with her brothers but was rebuffed.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Patel also claimed that local authorities rebuffed FBI offers to fly DNA evidence to the agency's lab at Quantico, instead choosing a private lab in Florida.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
She said Crowley rebuffed a request to prepare a report on the fires that was a crucial part of investigations into what happened and why.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
And it didn’t matter if he rebuffed or rejected a person, because someone else was sure to phone with yet another offer to play chess, see a movie, or eat a fish dinner.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
The National Labor Relations Board will not review a certification vote by Whole Foods Market employees at a store in Philadelphia, rebuffing an effort by the Amazon.com-owned grocery chain to halt the unionization.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
American Airlines late Friday took the unusual step of rebuffing a merger before it was even made.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 20, 2026
Coventry also kept their best players, rebuffing Sheffield United's bids for Bobby Thomas while Milan van Ewijk stayed despite Wolfsburg interest.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026
His way of impatiently rebuffing Salome’s inappropriate advances is to give her singing lessons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026
By repeatedly rebuffing the friendly advances of her new Wizarding neighbors, she soon ensured that her family was left well alone.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
