as in rejections
an unwillingness to grant something asked for
his flat refusal of our reasonable request was rather startling
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Recent Examples of refusals
French President Emmanuel Macron blasted tech company executives of social media platforms over refusals to limit or restrict speech.
—
Washington Examiner Staff, The Washington Examiner, 19 Feb. 2026
Conversation starters → Guy Fieri, a chef famous for trying everything, has revealed a few firm food refusals.
—Staff, FOXNews.com, 19 Feb. 2026
Medical staff were ordered to make sure all refusals of medical treatment were made directly to them and documented.
—Christopher Damien, USA Today, 1 Feb. 2026
White said ride refusals are particularly an issue for members of the blind community who travel with service animals.
—Judith Kohler, Denver Post, 21 Jan. 2026
When Washington comes asking for basing rights, expect polite refusals.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 11 Jan. 2026
Mass refusals also led to the cancellation of multiple PEN America events.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
Trump has shown increasing frustration with Putin for failing to agree to at least a ceasefire and has imposed some sanctions over the Russian leader’s refusals.
—Laura Kelly, The Hill, 19 Dec. 2025
Roberts’s votes in recent years—such as his decision to deny review in cases involving service refusals—suggest a preference to limit rather than undo .
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
Washington Examiner Staff, The Washington Examiner, 19 Feb. 2026
Conversation starters → Guy Fieri, a chef famous for trying everything, has revealed a few firm food refusals.
—Staff, FOXNews.com, 19 Feb. 2026
Medical staff were ordered to make sure all refusals of medical treatment were made directly to them and documented.
—Christopher Damien, USA Today, 1 Feb. 2026
White said ride refusals are particularly an issue for members of the blind community who travel with service animals.
—Judith Kohler, Denver Post, 21 Jan. 2026
When Washington comes asking for basing rights, expect polite refusals.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 11 Jan. 2026
Mass refusals also led to the cancellation of multiple PEN America events.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
Trump has shown increasing frustration with Putin for failing to agree to at least a ceasefire and has imposed some sanctions over the Russian leader’s refusals.
—Laura Kelly, The Hill, 19 Dec. 2025
Roberts’s votes in recent years—such as his decision to deny review in cases involving service refusals—suggest a preference to limit rather than undo .
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refusals
Noun
-
The comments were in response to questions about an editorial published earlier this week in The Wall Street Journal that questioned Prasad’s role in the rejections and accused Prasad of insisting on clinical trials that are too difficult and expensive to pull off.—
Ed Silverman,
STAT,
27 Feb. 2026
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For workers, that might look like applying for jobs despite already receiving countless rejections.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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These denials are on top of the harassment and violence that trans people can face in health care settings and the struggles to access preventive screenings for conditions like cancer, compared to their cisgender peers.—
O. Rose Broderick,
STAT,
27 Feb. 2026
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The denials were reiterated in Friday's lawsuit filings.—
Austin Turner,
CBS News,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Refusals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refusals. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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