refuse
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
refuses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
refused,
past participle, past
-
refusing
present participle
-
to decline to accept (something offered).
to refuse an award.
- Synonyms:
- rebuff
-
to decline to give; deny (a request, demand, etc.).
to refuse permission.
-
to express a determination not to (do something).
to refuse to discuss the question.
-
to decline to submit to.
-
(of a horse) to decline to leap over (a barrier).
-
to decline to accept (a suitor) in marriage.
-
Military. to bend or curve back (the flank units of a military force) so that they face generally to the flank rather than the front.
-
Obsolete. to renounce.
verb (used without object)
-
refuses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
refused,
past participle, past
-
refusing
present participle
noun
adjective
verb
-
(tr) to decline to accept (something offered)
to refuse a present
to refuse promotion
-
to decline to give or grant (something) to (a person, organization, etc)
-
(when tr, takes an infinitive) to express determination not (to do something); decline
he refuses to talk about it
-
(of a horse) to be unwilling to take (a jump), as by swerving or stopping
-
(tr) (of a woman) to declare one's unwillingness to accept (a suitor) as a husband
noun
Synonym Usage
Refuse, decline, reject, spurn all imply nonacceptance of something. To decline is milder and more courteous than to refuse, which is direct and often emphatic in expressing determination not to accept what is offered or proposed: to refuse a bribe; to decline an invitation. To reject is even more positive and definite than refuse : to reject a suitor. To spurn is to reject with scorn: to spurn a bribe.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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refusernoun
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quasi-refusedadjective
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refusableadjective
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unrefusableadjective
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unrefusedadjective
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unrefusingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
refusesimple
-
refusessimple
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have refusedperfect
-
has refusedperfect
-
am refusingprogressive
-
are refusingprogressive
-
is refusingprogressive
-
have been refusingperfect progressive
-
has been refusingperfect progressive
Past
-
refusedsimple
-
had refusedperfect
-
was refusingprogressive
-
were refusingprogressive
-
had been refusingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of refuse1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English refusen, from Middle French refuser, Old French ultimately from Latin refūsus, past participle of refundere “to pour back”; see refund 1
Origin of refuse2
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English from Middle French, Old French refus “dross, waste,” derivative of refuser to refuse 1
Explanation
To refuse is to decline, deny, reject, or resist. If a stranger offers you candy, you should politely refuse. As a noun, refuse (pronounced REF-yooss) is food waste, scraps, or garbage. As a verb, refuse (pronounced ree-FYOOZ) means to reject. If you’re mad at me, you’ll probably refuse my invitation to hang out. If your fashion sense isn't up to date, the bouncer at an exclusive nightclub might refuse entry to you. If you’re sick and you need a kidney transplant, your doctor will give you drugs to stop your body from refusing the donor kidney.
Vocabulary lists containing refuse
"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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"The Civil Rights Movement"
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"All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury
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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:
That’s code for expanding the opportunity for parents to refuse the shots for their children.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Those with custodial sentences would serve all of it out in their home country, or a third country offering rented prison spaces if they refuse to take them.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
But they did not plead the Fifth, opting instead to refuse to appear.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
It sparked a two-day search through a "mountain of waste" which had been collected by a bin lorry, the head of the refuse company, Roberto Nicola Toscano, told Italian news agency Ansa.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
What if they refuse to open the door, or slam it in my face?
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
If replacement is the more efficient path, a firm that refuses to cut jobs will lose to one that does.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
The one who wants work to get done, but refuses to provide guidance or feedback.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
There’s a comic trope beloved by playwrights, novelists and screenwriters about the fighters all suited up for battle, only to discover that their adversary refuses to play.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
McElwee refuses to scrub the truth from his personal histories, choosing instead to confront his own regrets head-on.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
But every second he refuses to look my way—every time he grunts without talking to me—a crack splits into me, and I’m pretty sure that if he cracks me enough, I’m eventually going to shatter.
From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender
The ‘Country Hicks’ who refused $26 million from an AI data center.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
However, it was refused on the grounds documents showing he met the grounds for residency were not submitted.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
The Sheriff’s Department dispatched a team of specialized crisis negotiators who attempted to negotiate his surrender, but the man refused to exit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Born a British subject, Hobsbawm refused to consider himself a refugee.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
She refused the relative safety and comfort of house arrest with a German family and chose to go to prison instead.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
I ended up leaving with the Hotel Mar-a-Lago shirt, which Bill insisted I take as a souvenir of my visit, refusing my money when I pulled out my wallet.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
But it admitted its audit suffered from limitations, such as the executive in charge of planning the campaign refusing to surrender their mobile phone.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
Bass stood in front of a display that accused Lineage of refusing to provide sufficient support to help nearby residents relocate to other parts of the city.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Zidane waited five years on the sidelines for the position, refusing all other coaching offers that came his way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Nobody was refusing him permission to be up on the wall now.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
