Synonyms of refusing

refusing

verb

present participle of refuse

1

as in denying

to be unwilling to grant

the reclusive movie star usually refuses requests for interviews

Synonyms & Similar Words

• denying
• rejecting
• declining
• withholding
• disallowing
• forbidding
• disapproving
• prohibiting
• restricting
• vetoing
• keeping
• banning
• nixing
• reprobating
• proscribing
• enjoining
• negativing
• restraining
• holding
• spurning
• checking
• impeding
• obstructing
• constraining
• hindering
• curbing
• rebuffing
• repressing
• repelling
• balking (at)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• allowing
• letting
• granting
• permitting
• providing
• giving
• supplying
• conceding
• affording
• authorizing
• furnishing
• acquiescing
• licensing
• commissioning
• according
• agreeing (to)
• warranting
• OK'ing
• consenting (to)
• sanctioning
• acceding (to)
• assenting (to)
• vouchsafing

2

as in rejecting

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

• rejecting
• declining
• ignoring
• denying
• passing
• forbidding
• avoiding
• dismissing
• spurning
• withdrawing
• vetoing
• disapproving
• disputing
• repudiating
• deselecting
• turning down
• nixing
• reprobating
• balking (at)
• passing up
• throwing over
• prohibiting
• disdaining
• throwing out
• negativing
• rebuffing
• scorning
• renouncing
• overruling
• proscribing
• retracting
• revoking
• scouting
• turning one's back on
• disavowing
• sticking
• forbearing
• contradicting
• blowing off
• disclaiming
• forswearing
• recalling
• refuting
• abjuring
• recanting
• disallowing
• bypassing
• refraining (from)
• disowning
• abstaining (from)
• taking back
• shooting down
• controverting
• detouring
• disproving
• negating
• gainsaying
• rebutting
• unsaying
• disagreeing (with)
• reneging
• backtracking
• backing off
• backing down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• accepting
• approving
• receiving
• agreeing (to)
• taking
• tolerating
• adopting
• swallowing
• agreeing
• embracing
• welcoming
• choosing
• consenting
• condoning
• selecting
• assenting
• acceding
• countenancing
• supporting
• acquiescing
• espousing
• handpicking

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of refusing

And refusing to keep any kind of part-time income trickling in only further complicates the situation. —Wes Moss, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026

Mayor Steven Streit presented the rise of data centers and the AI industry as inevitable, and said that the city had a chance to benefit by meeting the new industry on its terms and imposing restrictions rather than refusing it completely. —Evy Lewis, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026

How much do the Hawks regret refusing to burn that first year for him? —Scott Powers, New York Times, 27 May 2026

California's 7th Congressional District candidate and Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang is receiving pushback after videos resurfaced of her refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance. —Lindsay Kornick, FOXNews.com, 26 May 2026

Irish novelist Sally Rooney, who drew headlines in 2021 for refusing a Hebrew translation of one of her books, is now publishing her latest novel in Hebrew through an Israeli publisher approved by boycott activists. —Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 26 May 2026

Former Representative Elizabeth Holtzman, one of the co-authors, has portrayed the act as a corrective to the moral failure of refusing entry to many Jewish refugees during the Holocaust. —Annie Hylton, New Yorker, 14 May 2026

In addition to the credit debt case, Eatherly faces a separate criminal case in which he is accused of becoming unruly at a Nashville steakhouse on Saturday and refusing to pay the nearly $400 bill. —Kristin M. Hall, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026

Joe Eckardt, owner of Unbreakable Post, alleges he has been denied at least $1 million worth of work since refusing to participate in the scheme in 2023. —Gene Maddaus, Variety, 14 May 2026