View synonyms for

refuse

[ ri-fyooz ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

refused, refusing.

to decline to accept (something offered):
to refuse an award.
Synonyms:
Antonyms: ,
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)

refused, refusing.

to decline acceptance, consent, or compliance.

refuse

[ ref-yoos ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

something that is discarded as worthless or useless; rubbish; trash; garbage.

adjective

rejected as worthless; discarded:
refuse matter.

refuse

/ ��ɪˈ��ː�� /

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

refuse

/ ˈ��ɛ��ː�� /

noun

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

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Derived Forms

��ˈ�ڳܲ��, noun
��ˈ�ڳܲ��, adjective

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Other Word Forms

��·�ڳܲ�a·�� adjective
��·�ڳܲ�İ� noun
��ܲ��ȴ��-��·�ڳܲ�� adjective
un��·�ڳܲ�a·�� adjective
�ܲ�r��·�ڳܲ�� adjective
�ܲ�r��·�ڳܲ�i�Բ� adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of refuse¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English refusen, from Middle French refuser, Old French ultimately from Latin ��ū��ܲ�, 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

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Word History and Origins

Origin of refuse¹

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

Origin of refuse²

C15: from Old French refuser to refuse ¹

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Synonym Study

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.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Recent polls suggest that framing could be broadly popular — and that refusing to bring back a man admittedly expelled by mistake, in defiance of the Supreme Court, is not.

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Trump has also accused the Ukrainian leader of harming peace talks by refusing to recognise Russian control of Crimea.

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“Our connection with the pope made us refuse to accept this truth, even though we knew he was ill.”

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They refused to stay in their homes and camped outside the day John Moe The said the earthquake would happen.

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As a child, his rigid military father refused to accommodate his son’s eccentricities, beating it into the boy that he must fight for his place in the world — literally.

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Related Words

refusal refusenik

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