as in rejection
an unwillingness to grant something asked for
his flat refusal of our reasonable request was rather startling
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Recent Examples of refusal
The shutdown and the refusal to use the $5 billion in contingency funds mean that many vulnerable families may face food insecurity without their usual support.
—
Ronny Maye, Essence, 31 Oct. 2025
Democrats say Republicans’ refusal to extend the credits will lead to steep increases for working families, while Republicans argue that the program fuels waste and fraud.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 31 Oct. 2025
Republicans' refusal to fund SNAP will hurt their own voters most.
—Chris Brennan, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
Anschutz had a right of first refusal on any other Lakers shares that came to market, and those rights transferred in the deal.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for refusal
Ronny Maye, Essence, 31 Oct. 2025
Democrats say Republicans’ refusal to extend the credits will lead to steep increases for working families, while Republicans argue that the program fuels waste and fraud.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 31 Oct. 2025
Republicans' refusal to fund SNAP will hurt their own voters most.
—Chris Brennan, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
Anschutz had a right of first refusal on any other Lakers shares that came to market, and those rights transferred in the deal.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for refusal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refusal
Noun
-
Cue, Helm’s first rejection, abandonment, difficult emotions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in for a second term despite deadly protests and a rejection of the election results from the country’s main opposition party in a vote that barred key opponents from running.—
Preeti Jha,
semafor.com,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The denial letter said Farzam was convicted of making a false statement to the DMV and a registration violation.—
Ray Sanchez,
CNN Money,
2 Nov. 2025
-
Fuentes has espoused Holocaust denial and white nationalist ideology.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Refusal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refusal. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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