refuse

See also: refusé and re-fuse

English

Etymology 1

Category:English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#REFUSECategory:English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰewd-#REFUSE

Borrowed into late Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#REFUSECategory:English terms derived from Middle English#REFUSE from Middle FrenchCategory:English terms derived from Middle French#REFUSE refusé, past participle of refuser (to refuse). Displaced native Middle English wernen (to refuse)

Pronunciation

Adjective

refuse (comparative more refuse, superlative most refuse)Category:English lemmas#REFUSECategory:English adjectives#REFUSECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#REFUSECategory:Pages with entries#REFUSECategory:Pages with 4 entries#REFUSE

  1. Discarded, rejected.

Noun

refuse (uncountable)Category:English lemmas#REFUSECategory:English nouns#REFUSECategory:English uncountable nouns#REFUSECategory:English uncountable nouns#REFUSECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#REFUSECategory:Pages with entries#REFUSECategory:Pages with 4 entries#REFUSE

  1. Collectively, items or material that have been discarded; rubbish, garbage.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#REFUSECategory:English terms derived from Middle English#REFUSE refusen, from Old FrenchCategory:English terms derived from Old French#REFUSE refuser, from Vulgar LatinCategory:English terms derived from Vulgar Latin#REFUSE *refūsāre, a blend of Classical LatinCategory:English terms derived from Latin#REFUSE refūtāre (whence also refute) and recūsāre (whence also recuse).

Pronunciation

Verb

refuse (third-person singular simple present refuses, present participle refusing, simple past and past participle refused)Category:English lemmas#REFUSECategory:English verbs#REFUSECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#REFUSECategory:Pages with entries#REFUSECategory:Pages with 4 entries#REFUSE

  1. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#REFUSE) To decline (a request or demand).
    My request for a pay rise was refused.Category:English terms with usage examples#REFUSE
    • 1960 March, N. Caplan, “The Railway Member of Parliament”, in Railway Magazine, page 208:
      After the death of his [Verney's] first wife, he proposed to Florence Nightingale but she refused him. Later he married her sister, and for many years Claydon was Miss Nightingale's second home.
      Category:English terms with quotations#REFUSE
  2. (intransitiveCategory:English intransitive verbs#REFUSE) To decline a request or demand, forbear; to withhold permission.
    I refuse to listen to this nonsense any more.Category:English terms with usage examples#REFUSE
    I asked the star if I could have her autograph, but she refused.Category:English terms with usage examples#REFUSE
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, [] (King James Version), London: [] Robert Barker, [], →OCLC, Isaiah 1:20:
      If ye refuse [] ye shall be devoured with the sword.
      Category:English terms with quotations#REFUSE
    • 1948 March 1, “Duel in Korea”, in World Week, volume 12, number 5, Scholastic Corporation, page 10, column 2:
      The U. N. sent a commission to arrange for election of a Korean government. Russia and her satellites declined to cooperate with this Commission. Russia refused to let the Commission hold an election in north Korea, or even to enter north Korea. In southern Korea Leftist parties refused to meet with the Commission.
      Category:English terms with quotations#REFUSE
    • 1955 January, Charles E. Lee, “The Glasgow Underground Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 24:
      Eventually, the railway opened on Monday, December 14, 1896, with a universal fare of 1d. collected at the turnstiles, and conditions were immediately chaotic, as many passengers travelled round and round, and refused to leave the cars.
      Category:English terms with quotations#REFUSE
    • 2011 September 27, Alistair Magowan, “Bayern Munich 2 - 0 Man City”, in BBC Sport:
      City were outclassed thereafter and Roberto Mancini said that substitute Carlos Tevez refused to play.
      Category:English terms with quotations#REFUSE
    • 2018, Michael Cottakis – LSE, “Colliding worlds: Donald Trump and the European Union”, in LSE's blog:
      Trump has explicitly refused to deal with the European Commission, seeking instead to conduct bilateral relations with individual EU countries.
      Category:English terms with quotations#REFUSE
    • 2022 November 2, Paul Bigland, “New trains, old trains, and splendid scenery”, in RAIL, number 969, page 58:
      My thoughts are disturbed by a man and pooch trying to get off the front of the train. Despite hitting the door button, they refused to open.
      Category:English terms with quotations#REFUSE
  3. (ditransitiveCategory:English ditransitive verbs#REFUSE) To withhold (something) from (someone); to not give it to them or to bar them from having it.
    • 1991 December 15, Saadia Everett, “Protest Beatings”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 22, page 4:
      If we bang or scream they will spray us with some pepper or something else that's in an aeresol [sic] can, and they wear gas masks, while the rest of us have to breathe the fumes in, and it makes us very sick and they refuse us medical treatment.
      Category:English terms with quotations#REFUSE
  4. (militaryCategory:en:Military#REFUSE) To throw back, or cause to keep back (as the centre, a wing, or a flank), out of the regular alignment when troops are about to engage the enemy.
    to refuse the right wing while the left wing attacksCategory:English terms with usage examples#REFUSE
  5. (obsoleteCategory:English terms with obsolete senses#REFUSE, transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#REFUSE) To disown.
Usage notes
Conjugation
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

refuseCategory:English lemmas#REFUSECategory:English nouns#REFUSECategory:English nouns with unknown or uncertain plurals#REFUSECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#REFUSECategory:Pages with entries#REFUSECategory:Pages with 4 entries#REFUSE

  1. (obsoleteCategory:English terms with obsolete senses#REFUSE) refusal

Etymology 3

From re- + fuseCategory:English terms prefixed with re-#FUSE.

Pronunciation

Verb

refuse (third-person singular simple present refuses, present participle refusing, simple past and past participle refused)Category:English lemmas#REFUSECategory:English verbs#REFUSECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#REFUSECategory:Pages with entries#REFUSECategory:Pages with 4 entries#REFUSE

  1. To fuse again, as with, or after, heating or melting.
Conjugation
See also
Category:English heteronyms#REFUSECategory:English reporting verbs#REFUSE

French

Pronunciation

Verb

refuseCategory:French non-lemma forms#REFUSECategory:French verb forms#REFUSECategory:French entries with incorrect language header#REFUSECategory:Pages with entries#REFUSECategory:Pages with 4 entries#REFUSE

  1. inflection of refuser:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

Galician

Verb

refuseCategory:Galician non-lemma forms#REFUSECategory:Galician verb forms#REFUSECategory:Galician entries with incorrect language header#REFUSECategory:Pages with entries#REFUSECategory:Pages with 4 entries#REFUSE

  1. inflection of refusar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Latin

Pronunciation

Participle

refūseCategory:Latin non-lemma forms#REFUSECategory:Latin participle forms#REFUSECategory:Latin entries with incorrect language header#REFUSECategory:Pages with entries#REFUSECategory:Pages with 4 entries#REFUSE

  1. vocative masculine singular of refūsus

References

Category:English 2-syllable words Category:English adjectives Category:English ditransitive verbs Category:English heteronyms Category:English intransitive verbs Category:English lemmas Category:English nouns Category:English nouns with unknown or uncertain plurals Category:English reporting verbs Category:English terms derived from Latin Category:English terms derived from Middle English Category:English terms derived from Middle French Category:English terms derived from Old French Category:English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European Category:English terms derived from Vulgar Latin Category:English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰewd- Category:English terms inherited from Middle English Category:English terms prefixed with re- Category:English terms with IPA pronunciation Category:English terms with audio pronunciation Category:English terms with obsolete senses Category:English terms with quotations Category:English terms with usage examples Category:English transitive verbs Category:English uncountable nouns Category:English verbs Category:Entries with translation boxes Category:French 2-syllable words Category:French non-lemma forms Category:French terms with IPA pronunciation Category:French terms with audio pronunciation Category:French verb forms Category:Galician non-lemma forms Category:Galician verb forms Category:Latin 3-syllable words Category:Latin non-lemma forms Category:Latin participle forms Category:Latin terms with IPA pronunciation Category:Mandarin terms with non-redundant manual transliterations Category:Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations Category:Pages with 4 entries Category:Pages with entries Category:Rhymes:English/uːz Category:Rhymes:English/uːz/2 syllables Category:Terms with Afrikaans translations Category:Terms with Albanian translations Category:Terms with Ancient Greek translations Category:Terms with Arabic translations Category:Terms with Armenian translations Category:Terms with Bangi translations Category:Terms with Basque translations Category:Terms with Belarusian translations Category:Terms with Bulgarian translations Category:Terms with Burmese translations Category:Terms with Catalan translations Category:Terms with Cebuano translations Category:Terms with Cherokee translations Category:Terms with Chichewa translations Category:Terms with Cornish translations Category:Terms with Czech translations Category:Terms with Danish translations Category:Terms with Dutch translations Category:Terms with Esperanto translations Category:Terms with Finnish translations Category:Terms with French translations Category:Terms with Galician translations Category:Terms with Georgian translations Category:Terms with German translations Category:Terms with Gothic translations Category:Terms with Greek translations Category:Terms with Haitian Creole translations Category:Terms with Higaonon translations Category:Terms with Hindi translations Category:Terms with Hungarian translations Category:Terms with Ido translations Category:Terms with Indonesian translations Category:Terms with Irish translations Category:Terms with Italian translations Category:Terms with Japanese translations Category:Terms with Kapampangan translations Category:Terms with Khmer translations Category:Terms with Korean translations Category:Terms with Lao translations Category:Terms with Latin translations Category:Terms with Lingala translations Category:Terms with Macedonian translations Category:Terms with Mandarin translations Category:Terms with Middle English translations Category:Terms with Mongolian translations Category:Terms with Māori translations Category:Terms with Ngazidja Comorian translations Category:Terms with Norman translations Category:Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations Category:Terms with Occitan translations Category:Terms with Odia translations Category:Terms with Oromo translations Category:Terms with Persian translations Category:Terms with Plautdietsch translations Category:Terms with Polish translations Category:Terms with Portuguese translations Category:Terms with Quechua translations Category:Terms with Russian translations Category:Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations Category:Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations Category:Terms with Sidamo translations Category:Terms with Slovak translations Category:Terms with Spanish translations Category:Terms with Swahili translations Category:Terms with Swedish translations Category:Terms with Telugu translations Category:Terms with Thai translations Category:Terms with Turkish translations Category:Terms with Ukrainian translations Category:Terms with Vietnamese translations Category:Terms with Welsh translations Category:en:Military