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
The Serie A giants' refusal to re-enter the pitch for the final minutes of that one also led to them being banned the following year.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Dubbed “the barefoot revolutionary” for his refusal to wear shoes, Hilton was satirized on the BBC political sitcom “The Thick of It” as Stewart Pearson, the Tories’ “eco-friendly, media-savvy, blue-sky-thinking” communications director.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Yet alongside that financial retreat, though, there is a more aesthetic refusal taking shape.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
The man looks like he's about to object to her polite refusal, but then he catches an older woman's eye and moves off to escort a homely girl in a yellow dress instead.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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
Now, I ache a little when I think about those refusals.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 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
They talk, but only to make ill-tempered demands and cold refusals.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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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.
