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
Mass refusals also led to the cancellation of multiple PEN America events.
—
James Folta, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
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
Two cases about the passport refusals eventually made their way to the Supreme Court.
—Time, 20 Oct. 2025
Instead, Gazan leadership fell into refusals and delays without any coherent strategy.
—Mohammed R. Mhawish, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025
Legal experts say a clear trend is forming due to the number of refusals to indict in such a short time.
—Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 4 Sep. 2025
Durov was forced out as CEO in 2014 after several arguments with the Russian state over censorship and refusals to hand over user data.
—Ryan Hogg, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2025
The researchers tested 3,840 AI query-response pairs across 480 participants, comparing direct refusals, explanations, redirection, partial compliance and full compliance.
—Victor Dey, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
James Folta, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
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
Two cases about the passport refusals eventually made their way to the Supreme Court.
—Time, 20 Oct. 2025
Instead, Gazan leadership fell into refusals and delays without any coherent strategy.
—Mohammed R. Mhawish, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025
Legal experts say a clear trend is forming due to the number of refusals to indict in such a short time.
—Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 4 Sep. 2025
Durov was forced out as CEO in 2014 after several arguments with the Russian state over censorship and refusals to hand over user data.
—Ryan Hogg, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2025
The researchers tested 3,840 AI query-response pairs across 480 participants, comparing direct refusals, explanations, redirection, partial compliance and full compliance.
—Victor Dey, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refusals
Noun
-
At least seven grand jury rejections have occurred across five different cases since the administration’s crime and security surge crackdown began in August.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
1 Jan. 2026
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Extraordinary rejections Granted, all these grand juries were in liberal jurisdictions, but their rejections of prosecutors’ claims are still striking, since indictments are usually notoriously easy to secure.—
Michelle Goldberg,
Mercury News,
30 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Instead of blanket denials, applications will now be reviewed individually, provided companies meet a series of strict conditions.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Jan. 2026
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The investigation focuses on potential violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law and follows growing complaints from residents about delays, underpayments, and denials of legitimate wildfire claims.—
Pat Maio,
Daily News,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Refusals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refusals. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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