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.
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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
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
-
quasi-refusedadjective
-
refusableadjective
-
unrefusableadjective
-
unrefusedadjective
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unrefusingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
refusesimple
-
refusessimple
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have refusedperfect
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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:
This time, Howard expects Walmart and its peers to refuse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Asahiro Kuni, 81, a member of one of the 11 imperial branches, has also said he would advise his grandchildren to refuse the opportunity of becoming royals.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
Both women said people had asked them how they didn't know they were being lied to - but they refuse to feel shame over Griffiths' crimes.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
However, the UK government has said it could limit or refuse compensation.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Penelope tried to refuse, for they had won it fair and square, but it was hard for her to be convincing when all she could do was shake her head and mouth the word “no.”
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
If the goalkeeper refuses to commit early, the penalty taker is forced into a late decision while taking his eyes off the ball at precisely the wrong moment, increasing the margin for error.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Alaska’s Supreme Court refuses to stop a double name ballot game.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
She refuses to treat the citizenship clause as an abstract debate about sovereignty or jurisdiction divorced from the people whose humanity demanded its adoption.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
Young says he feels like he is a victim of big business exploitation, but -- like many -- he refuses to give up, saying "I do think that change is coming, because it has to."
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Here and there a Luddite holdout refuses to open an email account, just as thousands of years ago some human bands refused to take up farming and so escaped the luxury trap.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
The label’s owner hoped to attract ardent punk fans, but Mr. Richman refused to endorse or support the record.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Officers found the man around 1:35 p.m. driving his vehicle near the Simi Valley Town Center and tried to stop him but he refused and led police in a pursuit, according to the release.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Neal also refused to allow investigators access to his mobile phone, it added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
"I asked him to give me his bank account number so I could transfer the money, but he refused."
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
No matter how reassuring her parents were, each time she felt the water around her, she grew fearful and refused to let go of the side of the pool.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
Instead, it is refusing to repeat the legally actionable version of that claim that a defamation lawyer could put in front of a jury.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
He accused Gandhi of "changing the goalpost" and of refusing to end the protest despite being told that the place wasn't conducive to such demonstrations.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
And protecting the balance, at the top of the mountain, quietly means refusing to come down.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
Whether the station was helping fight the fires of 2025 or running a pancake breakfast, McIndoe said, Fanara pitched in, supplying pizzas and sausages, offering pizza-making lessons and refusing payment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
From Greenblatt’s point of view, he had given this guy $100 million and the guy was not only refusing to give it back but to even talk to him.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.