refuse
American Heritage Dictionary:
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re·fuse1
(rĭ-fyūz') 
v., -fused, -fus·ing, -fus·es. v.tr.
To decline to do, accept, give, or allow something.
ref·use2 (rĕf'yūs)
n.
Items or material discarded or rejected as useless or worthless; trash or rubbish.
v., -fused, -fus·ing, -fus·es. v.tr.
- To indicate unwillingness to do, accept, give, or allow: She was refused admittance. He refused treatment.
- To indicate unwillingness (to do something): refused to leave.
- To decline to jump (an obstacle). Used of a horse.
To decline to do, accept, give, or allow something.
[Middle English refusen, from Old French refuser, from Vulgar Latin *refūsāre, probably blend of Latin recūsāre, to refuse. See recuse and Latin refūtāre, refute; see refute.]
refuser re·fus'er n.SYNONYMS refuse, decline, reject, spurn, rebuff. These verbs all mean to be unwilling to accept, consider, or receive someone or something. Refuse usually implies determination and often brusqueness: "The commander . . . refused to discuss questions of right" (George Bancroft). "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse" (Mario Puzo). To decline is to refuse courteously: "I declined election to the National Institute of Arts and Letters . . . and now I must decline the Pulitzer Prize" (Sinclair Lewis). Reject suggests the discarding of someone or something as defective or useless; it implies categoric refusal: "He again offered himself for enlistment and was again rejected" (Arthur S.M. Hutchinson). To spurn is to reject scornfully or contemptuously: "The more she spurns my love,/The more it grows" ( Shakespeare). Rebuff pertains to blunt, often disdainful rejection: "He had . . . gone too far in his advances, and had been rebuffed" (Robert Louis Stevenson).
ref·use2 (rĕf'yūs)
n.
Items or material discarded or rejected as useless or worthless; trash or rubbish.
[Middle English, from Old French refus, rejection, refuse, from refuser, to refuse. See refuse1.]
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The noun, meaning 'waste material', is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable, whereas the verb, meaning 'to withhold consent for', is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable.
| refrigerator, reform, reflexive verbs | |
| refutable, refute, regalia |
Roget's Thesaurus:
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refuse
verb
- To be unwilling to accept, consider, or receive: decline, dismiss, reject, spurn, turn down. Slang nix. Idioms: turn thumbs down on. See accept/reject.
- To be unwilling to grant: deny, disallow, turn down, withhold. See accept/reject.
Antonyms by Answers.com:
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refuse
n
Definition: garbage
Antonyms: assets, possessions, property
v
Definition: deny; say no
Antonyms: accept, allow, approve, consent, grant, offer, ok, sanction
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'refuse'
- Expressions of Feeling - refuse: express unwillingness to do something
- Questions and Answers - refuse: deny request or demand; answer “no‘
- Foolishness, Bunkum, and Trifles
Translations:
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Refuse
Dansk (Danish)
1.
v. intr. - afvise, afslå, nægte
v. tr. - afstå, nægte
2.
n. - affald, skrald
Nederlands (Dutch)
weigeren, afwijzen, van nieuwe zekering voorzien, afval, afgedankt
Français (French)
1.
v. intr. - refuser, (Équit) refuser (un obstacle)
v. tr. - refuser, (Équit) faire un refus
2.
n. - (GB) ordures, déchets, déchets de jardinage
Deutsch (German)
1.
v. - verweigern, ablehnen, sich weigern
2.
n. - Abfall, Müll
Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - αρνούμαι, δεν δέχομαι, απορρίπτω
n. - απορρίμματα, σκουπίδια
Italiano (Italian)
rifiutare, rifiutare categoricamente, rifiuti
Português (Portuguese)
v. - recusar
n. - refugo (m)
Русский (Russian)
отказать, отвергнуть, отклонить, отбросы, отходы
Español (Spanish)
1.
v. intr. - negarse, resistirse
v. tr. - negar, rechazar, rehusar, declinar, rehusar a, negarse a, rehusarse a
2.
n. - basura, desechos
Svenska (Swedish)
v. - vägra, avstå
n. - avfall, avskum
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 拒绝, 拒给, 拒受, 不准, 不肯越过障碍物
2. 废物, 渣滓, 垃圾
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 廢物, 渣滓, 垃圾
2.
v. tr. - 拒絕, 拒給, 拒受, 不准
v. intr. - 拒絕, 不肯越過障礙物
한국어 (Korean)
1.
v. intr. - 거절하다, 같은 패가 없어서 다른 패를 내다
v. tr. - 거절하다, 사절하다, ~하려 하지 않다
2.
n. - 나머지, 찌꺼기, 폐물
日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 断わる, 拒絶する, 与えない, 断る
n. - 廃物, ごみ, 廃棄物
idioms:
- refuse container ごみ箱
العربيه (Arabic)
(فعل) يرفض, يحرم (الاسم) رفض
עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - סירב, דחה
v. tr. - סירב לתת, לא העניק, סירב לקבל
n. - אשפה, זבל
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Roget's Thesaurus
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture & Construction
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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The Dream Encyclopedia
The Dreams Encyclopedia. 1995 ©Visible Ink Press (VisibleInkPress.com). All rights reserved.
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