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
-
unrefusingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
refusesimple
-
refusessimple
-
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:
"We refuse to accept our country being turned into a source of danger to Europe," Tikhanovskaya wrote on X. "Lasting security requires a sovereign, democratic Belarus whose territory is never used against its neighbours."
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Bins finally arrived on Hawthorn Meadows in Buckley, Flintshire, last month but Nathan Long and 60 other households can still only watch as refuse workers collect rubbish or recyclables from a nearby street.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
If there were any time to turn our noses up in defiance and refuse to engage with anything less than quality, it’s now.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
The statistics are sobering — so sobering that Defense Department officials refuse to confirm, deny or discuss them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
“Well, that’s your problem. You refuse to see the evidence in front of you. Those dead branches are what’s keeping that plant from thriving.”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
But if the Fed tightens and gold refuses to break — particularly if longer-term yields remain under pressure — investors should consider a more consequential possibility.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
He refuses to admit that Pancho is probably dead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
His mature Douglass refuses to treat slavery as the whole meaning of the founding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Kevin Reddington, Clancy's main lawyer, told a Massachusetts court Thursday that there is "one juror who refuses to listen to the law that you've given him or her on reasonable doubt."
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
He refuses; puts his coat back on and moves to the door to stare into the swiftness and the dark.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
Years later, in June 2025, Dunham told the Times that she and Felber were "in the process of expanding our family in new ways", but refused to be drawn on how.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
He was certainly less charitable since Walters refused his offer.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Baker claimed Winchell was sitting at a nearby table and refused to come to her aid, causing a flurry of support for her cause.
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026
At the press conference following the decision, Chairman Kevin Warsh refused to say how many more rate hikes might be required to bring inflation back to the Fed’s 2% target.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Duane had never refused a crumpet since they’d met.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
There is no particular virtue in refusing yourself the same generosity at dinner.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
New Yorkers famously went out to the bars that very night, refusing to sit scared in our apartments.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
Robson was booked Monday evening and charged with one misdemeanor count of trespassing and refusing to leave private property, according to court records.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
In the Teamsters’ telling, Amazon invited the conflict by refusing to bargain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
“Do we increase our risk by refusing to follow the government’s request?” asked Sulzberger.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
