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Many English verbs begin with the prefix re-, meaning “again” or “backward,” so we wouldn’t criticize you for drawing a connection between rebuff and buff, a verb meaning “to polish or shine.” But rebuff would beg to differ: this word comes to us from the Middle French verb rebuffer, which traces back to the Old Italian ribuffare, meaning “to reprimand.” (Buff, in contrast, comes from the Middle French noun buffle, meaning “wild ox”). A similar word, rebuke, shares the “criticize” sense of rebuff, but not the “reject” sense; one can rebuke another’s actions or policies, but one does not rebuke the advances of another, for example. Like rebuke, rebuff can also be used as a noun, as in “The proposal was met with a stern rebuff from the Board of Trustees.”
Examples of rebuff in a Sentence
City News Service, Oc Register, 29 May 2026
The justices rebuffed an appeal from the league, which wanted the case handled through its arbitration process rather than open court in New York.
—ABC News, 26 May 2026
The Supreme Court on May 26 rebuffed Florida’s attempt to sue California and Washington state over a fatal Florida crash blamed on an undocumented immigrant from India that became a political flashpoint.
—Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 26 May 2026
The president’s budget request has repeatedly proposed cutting the NSF’s budget by more than half, which so far have been rebuffed by Congress.
—Shalin Jyotishi, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for rebuff
Cite this Entry
“Rebuff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rebuff. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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