1
as in denied
to be unwilling to grant
the reclusive movie star usually refuses requests for interviews
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in declined
to show unwillingness to accept, do, engage in, or agree to
she refused the award, citing the hard work of others who deserved the recognition more than she did
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in rejected
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of refused
Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 20 Oct. 2025
While thousands focused on the federal government at the rally, at least one woman seemed more concentrated on calling out how Attorney General Andrea Campbell has refused to enforce the legislative audit that state voters approved last November.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
The Liverpool head coach was frustrated that referee Michael Oliver didn’t stop play in the build-up to United’s opener with Alexis Mac Allister down with a head injury but refused to use it as an excuse.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
For the last two years, Israel had refused to come up with a plan for post-war governance of Gaza.
—Kara Fox, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025
But her sister has refused to accept that.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2025
The guru was in prison and refused to leave prison without the other 52 political prisoners being released.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 19 Oct. 2025
The driver even said Tesla had seen the issue firsthand during a test drive, but refused to fix it.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2025
Ares was in development for a decade, but former Disney exec Sean Bailey refused to give up and shepherded the project when serving as head of Disney’s live-action studio.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Through more than a decade of running a business and raising a son, Whebbe and Paoli refused to give up on getting the Book Lady’s books into the hands of people who will love them.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 20 Oct. 2025
While thousands focused on the federal government at the rally, at least one woman seemed more concentrated on calling out how Attorney General Andrea Campbell has refused to enforce the legislative audit that state voters approved last November.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
The Liverpool head coach was frustrated that referee Michael Oliver didn’t stop play in the build-up to United’s opener with Alexis Mac Allister down with a head injury but refused to use it as an excuse.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
For the last two years, Israel had refused to come up with a plan for post-war governance of Gaza.
—Kara Fox, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025
But her sister has refused to accept that.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2025
The guru was in prison and refused to leave prison without the other 52 political prisoners being released.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 19 Oct. 2025
The driver even said Tesla had seen the issue firsthand during a test drive, but refused to fix it.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2025
Ares was in development for a decade, but former Disney exec Sean Bailey refused to give up and shepherded the project when serving as head of Disney’s live-action studio.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refused
Verb
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Through a lawyer, Minaj denied the claims.—
Andrew Flanagan,
Variety,
15 Oct. 2025
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Wendi and her father Harvey have not been charged with any crime and have denied involvement in the plot.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Comey received a slight boost in his case to plead his innocence earlier this week when a judge rejected federal prosecutors’ effort to impose broad restrictions on the evidence Comey can access ahead of trial.—
Emily Hallas,
The Washington Examiner,
18 Oct. 2025
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The news caused Salesforce shares to surge as management rejected Wall Street’s narrative of sluggish revenue growth that’s been weighing on investor sentiment in 2025.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski previously declined to comment on whether King is linked to the alleged harassing phone calls.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
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After crunching the numbers to exclude armies of data-scraping AI bots, the Wikimedia Foundation says that between March and August this year, the number of Wikipedia page views coming from real humans declined by 8% year-on-year.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The complaint alleges that BNY ignored warning signs, especially after Epstein’s crimes became known.—
Chase Jordan
October 17,
Charlotte Observer,
17 Oct. 2025
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When things get fuzzy about what a child’s needs actually are, or parents feel they are being ignored, OSEP can help parents learn what their options are, and then can even become involved and serve as an arbitrator to figure out the best course of action.—
Joshua Cowen,
The Conversation,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Transparency instead of testing Where the vetoed SB 1047 would have mandated safety testing and kill switches for AI systems, the new law focuses on disclosure.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Refused.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refused. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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