refuse
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
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)
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
Related Words
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
- quasi-refused adjective
- refusable adjective
- refuser noun
- unrefusable adjective
- unrefused adjective
- unrefusing adjective
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”; 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
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.
Colbert refused to see himself as a martyr and began his acceptance by letting a bit of the air out of the award, named after a blacklisted journalist.
From Salon
In 1958, when the star Maria Callas stopped partway through performing “Norma” in Rome and refused to finish the show, it was front-page news; the police were called in to keep the peace.
Shell not only “refused to compensate” Cipriani, but also told him that he could not “assist” him “in obtaining a television show or other entertainment industry opportunity.”
From Los Angeles Times
She was left in tears when the private refuse firm she was using, Island Waste, told her there was a £500 penalty per battery.
From BBC
Pentagon reporters are saying that military representatives now refuse to discuss operational details, referring nearly every inquiry to the White House.
From Salon
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.
