refuse

1 of 3

verb

re·​fuse ri-ˈfyüz 

refused; refusing

transitive verb

1

: to express oneself as unwilling to accept

refuse a gift

refuse a promotion

2

a

: to show or express unwillingness to do or comply with

refused to answer the question

b

: to not allow someone to have or do (something) : deny

they were refused admittance to the game

3

obsolete : give up, renounce

deny thy father and refuse thy name

—William Shakespeare

4

of a horse : to decline to jump or leap over

intransitive verb

: to withhold acceptance, compliance, or permission

refuser noun

refuse

2 of 3

noun

ref·​use ˈre-ˌfyüs 

-ˌfyüz

1

: the worthless or useless part of something : leavings

2

: trash, garbage

refuse

3 of 3

adjective

ref·​use ˈre-ˌfyüs 

-ˌfyüz

: thrown aside or left as worthless

Synonyms

Verb

• decline
• deny
• disallow
• disapprove
• negative
• nix
• reject
• reprobate
• withhold

Noun

• chaff
• deadwood
• debris
• dreck
• drek
• dross
• dust
• effluvium
• effluvia
• garbage
• junk
• litter
• offal
• offscouring
• raffle
• riffraff
• rubbish
• scrap
• spilth
• trash
• truck
• waste

Choose the Right Synonym for refuse

decline, refuse, reject, repudiate, spurn mean to turn away by not accepting, receiving, or considering.

decline often implies courteous refusal especially of offers or invitations.

declined his party's nomination

refuse suggests more positiveness or ungraciousness and often implies the denial of something asked for.

refused to lend them the money

reject implies a peremptory refusal by sending away or discarding.

rejected the manuscript as unpublishable

repudiate implies a casting off or disowning as untrue, unauthorized, or unworthy of acceptance.

teenagers who repudiate the values of their parents

spurn stresses contempt or disdain in rejection or repudiation.

spurned his overtures of friendship

Examples of refuse in a Sentence

Verb

When they offered me the money, I couldn't refuse.

They asked her to help but she refused.

Noun

refuse had littered the playground until our volunteer group cleaned it up

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The suit alleges that ICE agents repeatedly refused to give VML's father her location and denied him the opportunity to speak for more than a minute to VML's mother. —Alana Wise, NPR, 26 Apr. 2025

Listen to this article Three people were arrested and accused of assaulting a taxi cab driver in Norwalk on Thursday after allegedly refusing to pay their cab fare, including one suspect whose alleged combative behavior injured a police officer. —Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 26 Apr. 2025

Noun

These killings doubled as cover for war crimes and a brutal shrug: what else to do with those cast as human refuse? —James Wood, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025

But even with some trucks rolling, the immense quantity of refuse is overwhelming and options for residents to get rid of their waste are limited and time-consuming. —Arkansas Online, 8 Apr. 2025

Adjective

Officials with the city’s Bureau of Sanitation said the existing trash fees have not been generating enough money to cover the true cost of refuse collection. —David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2025

Cement mixers, roll-off and dump trucks, which all share a common architecture, will be built first, followed by refuse trucks and terminal tractors. —Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 7 Dec. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French refuser, from Vulgar Latin *refusare, perhaps blend of Latin refutare to refute and recusare to demur — more at recuse

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from refuser

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing refuse

• too good to refuse

Rhymes for refuse

• accrues
• accuse
• aircrews
• amuse
• bamboos
• breakthroughs
• canoes
• cashews
• chartreuse
• confuse
• construes
• defuse

Kids Definition

refuse

1 of 2 verb

re·​fuse ri-ˈfyüz 

refused; refusing

1

: to say one will not accept : reject

refused the money

2

a

: to show or express positive unwillingness

refused to act

b

: to say one will not grant : deny

was refused entrance

3

: to withhold the accepting, following, or permitting of something

refuser noun

refuse

2 of 2 noun

ref·​use ˈref-ˌyüs 

-ˌyüz

: worthless things : trash