refuse

UK: verb: /rɪˈfjuːz/, noun: /ˈrɛfjuːs/

US: /rɪˈfjuz/

US: (v. ri fyo̅o̅z′; n., adj. ref′yo̅o̅s)

Inflections of 'refuse' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

refuses

v 3rd person singular

refusing

v pres p

refused

v past

refused

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

re•fuse¹ /rɪˈfyuz/   v., -fused, -fus•ing. 

1. to decline to accept (something offered);
   reject: [~ + object]
   He refused a cigarette.
   [no object]
   an offer you can't refuse.
2. to deny (a request, demand, etc.): [~ + object]
   She refused my request.
   [~ + object + object]
   Her father refused his daughter permission to see that boy again.
3. to turn down (doing something):
   [~ + to + verb] to refuse to discuss an issue.
4. to decline to accept (someone offering a proposal of marriage):
   [~ + object] She had many suitors but she refused them all.

ref•use² /ˈrɛfyus/   n. [uncountable]

1. something thrown away as worthless or useless;
   waste;
   rubbish;
   trash;
   garbage.

adj. [before a noun]

2. rejected as worthless;
   thrown away.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

re•fuse¹  (ri fyo̅o̅z′), v., -fused, -fus•ing. 
v.t. 

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. [Obs.] to renounce.

v.i. 

9. to decline acceptance, consent, or compliance.

• Middle French refuser, Old French Latin refūsus, past participle of refundere to pour back; see refund¹
• Middle English refusen 1300–50

re•fus′a•ble, adj. 
re•fus′er, n. 
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.

ref•use²  (ref′yo̅o̅s), n. 

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

adj. 

2. rejected as worthless;
   discarded:
   refuse matter.

• Middle French; Old French refus denial, rejection, derivative of refuser to refuse¹
• Middle English 1325–75

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

refuse / rɪˈfjuːz/ verb

1. (transitive) 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); decline: I refuse to talk about it
4. (of a horse) to be unwilling to take (a jump), as by swerving or stopping

Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French refuser, from Latin refundere to pour back; see refund

reˈfusable adjective

reˈfuser noun

refuse / ˈrɛfjuːs/ noun

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

Etymology: 15th Century: from Old French refuser to refuse¹