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refuse1

[ri-fyooz]
verb (used with object), re·fused, re·fus·ing.
  1. to decline to accept (something offered): to refuse an award.
  2. to decline to give; deny (a request, demand, etc.): to refuse permission.
  3. to express a determination not to (do something): to refuse to discuss the question.
  4. to decline to submit to.
  5. (of a horse) to decline to leap over (a barrier).
  6. to decline to accept (a suitor) in marriage.
  7. 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.
  8. Obsolete. to renounce.
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verb (used without object), re·fused, re·fus·ing.
  1. to decline acceptance, consent, or compliance.
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Origin of refuse1

1300–50; Middle English refusen < Middle French refuser, Old French ≪ Latin refūsus, past participle of refundere to pour back; see refund1
Related formsre·fus·a·ble, adjectivere·fus·er, nounqua·si-re·fused, adjectiveun·re·fus·a·ble, adjectiveun·re·fused, adjectiveun·re·fus·ing, adjective

Synonyms

1. rebuff. 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.

Antonyms

1. accept, welcome.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for unrefusable

refuse1

verb
  1. (tr) to decline to accept (something offered)to refuse a present; to refuse promotion
  2. to decline to give or grant (something) to (a person, organization, etc)
  3. (when tr, takes an infinitive) to express determination not (to do something); declinehe refuses to talk about it
  4. (of a horse) to be unwilling to take (a jump), as by swerving or stopping
  5. (tr) (of a woman) to declare one's unwillingness to accept (a suitor) as a husband
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Derived Formsrefusable, adjectiverefuser, noun

Word Origin

C14: from Old French refuser, from Latin refundere to pour back; see refund

refuse2

noun
    1. anything thrown away; waste; rubbish
    2. (as modifier)a refuse collection
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Word Origin

C15: from Old French refuser to refuse 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for unrefusable

refuse

v.

c.1300, from Old French refuser "reject, disregard, avoid" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *refusare, frequentative form from past participle stem of Latin refundere "pour back, give back" (see refund (v.)). Related: Refused; refusing.

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refuse

n.

mid-14c., "an outcast;" mid-14c., "a rejected thing, waste material, trash," from Old French refus "waste product, rubbish; refusal, denial, rejection," a back-formation from the past participle of refuser (see refuse (v.)). As an adjective from late 14c., "despised, rejected;" early 15c., "of low quality."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper