refuse 1 of 3

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refuse

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noun

refuse

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adjective

Synonym Chooser

How is the word refuse different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of refuse are decline, reject, repudiate, and spurn. While all these words mean "to turn away by not accepting, receiving, or considering," refuse suggests more positiveness or ungraciousness and often implies the denial of something asked for.

refused to lend them the money

In what contexts can decline take the place of refuse?

In some situations, the words decline and refuse are roughly equivalent. However, decline often implies courteous refusal especially of offers or invitations.

declined his party's nomination

When is reject a more appropriate choice than refuse?

The synonyms reject and refuse are sometimes interchangeable, but reject implies a peremptory refusal by sending away or discarding.

rejected the manuscript as unpublishable

When can repudiate be used instead of refuse?

The words repudiate and refuse can be used in similar contexts, but repudiate implies a casting off or disowning as untrue, unauthorized, or unworthy of acceptance.

teenagers who repudiate the values of their parents

When could spurn be used to replace refuse?

Although the words spurn and refuse have much in common, spurn stresses contempt or disdain in rejection or repudiation.

spurned his overtures of friendship

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of refuse
Verb
The film follows the young singer Seti, who refuses to accept the fact that women in Iran are not allowed to perform in public. Zac Ntim, Deadline, 25 June 2025 The videos show officers giving him commands to drop the knife, but Epple refuses. Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 June 2025
Noun
The truth is that James’ fortune may well be spirited away by remote quantum attackers long before the diggers uncover the missing black refuse bag containing the missing hard disk. David G.w. Birch, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025 Mountains of garbage are said to be visible from space and people have complained of seeing rats as big as cats in the refuse. 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 See All Example Sentences for refuse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refuse
Verb
  • But the company denies claims that its equipment sparked the 2019 fire, which tore through Sylmar, Porter Ranch and Granada Hills — all suburbs of Los Angeles — burning 8,799 acres.
    Melody Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2025
  • Trump and other officials doubled down on claims Abrego Garcia was in the MS-13 gang, an accusation that Abrego Garcia denies.
    Ben Finley, Fortune, 27 June 2025
Verb
  • In response, Congress passed legislation seeking to limit a president's ability to wage war against Iran, which was again quickly rejected by Trump.
    Mariam Khan, ABC News, 23 June 2025
  • That kind of backlash prompted officials in La Mesa, Oceanside, Vista and Carlsbad to reject digital billboard proposals.
    David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 June 2025
Noun
  • In the first images of Read since her second trial, Fox News Digital exclusively captured the 45-year-old wheeling a garbage bin outside her Boston hotel.
    Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 21 June 2025
  • Seal garbage tightly in bags, and rinse out bottles and cans before placing in recycling bins.
    Arricca Elin SanSone, Southern Living, 18 June 2025
Verb
  • Iran's missile launches have declined, though officials have not explained.
    Amanda Castro Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 June 2025
  • That provision alarmed Democratic lawmakers at a time when public districts large and small are seeing their enrollments decline as more Florida families choose charters, private schools or homeschool options.
    Kate Payne, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 June 2025
Verb
  • Despite weeks of calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine, Trump has been ignored by Putin, who continues his aggression.
    Tom Zirpoli, Baltimore Sun, 17 June 2025
  • If another catastrophe were to occur—especially one brought on by ignoring the essential stepping stone of the moon—the backlash could be far more severe.
    Avery Padraic Kerrigan, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2025
Noun
  • Chavez's action on that night left the crowd at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, showering the ring with debris.
    Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
  • After 9/11, undocumented immigrants were tasked with cleaning up the debris of the World Trade Center, as Karla Cornejo Villavicencio showed in her book The Undocumented Americans.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 June 2025
Noun
  • Oremus and Papp looked at other common plastic trash—straws, water bottles and bottle caps—and found that, for these items, nothing changed.
    Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 19 June 2025
  • From 2010 to 2015, the local government banned trash burning, so dumping in caves became common.
    Morgan Severson, CNN Money, 18 June 2025
Adjective
  • This anti-waste brand upcycles materials, and was founded by Kisa Sky Shiga.
    Nadja Sayej, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2022
  • Fanning out like urban guerrillas through Paris’ darkened streets well after midnight, the anti-waste activists shinny up walls and drain pipes, reaching for switches to turn off the lights. Click.
    The Christian Science Monitor, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Aug. 2022

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Cite this Entry

“Refuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refuse. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.

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