Definitions for refuse
ˈrɛf yusrefuse

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. garbage, refuse, food waste, scrapsverb

   food that is discarded (as from a kitchen)

2. refuse, declineverb

   show unwillingness towards

   "he declined to join the group on a hike"

3. refuse, reject, pass up, turn down, declineverb

   refuse to accept

   "He refused my offer of hospitality"

4. defy, resist, refuseverb

   elude, especially in a baffling way

   "This behavior defies explanation"

5. deny, refuseverb

   refuse to let have

   "She denies me every pleasure"; "he denies her her weekly allowance"

6. resist, reject, refuseverb

   resist immunologically the introduction of some foreign tissue or organ

   "His body rejected the liver of the donor"

7. reject, turn down, turn away, refuseverb

   refuse entrance or membership

   "They turned away hundreds of fans"; "Black people were often rejected by country clubs"

Webster Dictionary(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Refuseverb

   to deny, as a request, demand, invitation, or command; to decline to do or grant

   Etymology: [F. refuser, either from (assumed) LL. refusare to refuse, v. freq. of L. refundere to pour back, give back, restore (see Refund to repay), or. fr. L. recusare to decline, refuse cf. Accuse, Ruse), influenced by L. refutare to drive back, repel, refute. Cf. Refute.]

2. Refuseverb

   to throw back, or cause to keep back (as the center, a wing, or a flank), out of the regular aligment when troops ar/ about to engage the enemy; as, to refuse the right wing while the left wing attacks

   Etymology: [F. refuser, either from (assumed) LL. refusare to refuse, v. freq. of L. refundere to pour back, give back, restore (see Refund to repay), or. fr. L. recusare to decline, refuse cf. Accuse, Ruse), influenced by L. refutare to drive back, repel, refute. Cf. Refute.]

3. Refuseverb

   to decline to accept; to reject; to deny the request or petition of; as, to refuse a suitor

   Etymology: [F. refuser, either from (assumed) LL. refusare to refuse, v. freq. of L. refundere to pour back, give back, restore (see Refund to repay), or. fr. L. recusare to decline, refuse cf. Accuse, Ruse), influenced by L. refutare to drive back, repel, refute. Cf. Refute.]

4. Refuseverb

   to disown

   Etymology: [F. refuser, either from (assumed) LL. refusare to refuse, v. freq. of L. refundere to pour back, give back, restore (see Refund to repay), or. fr. L. recusare to decline, refuse cf. Accuse, Ruse), influenced by L. refutare to drive back, repel, refute. Cf. Refute.]

5. Refuseverb

   to deny compliance; not to comply

   Etymology: [F. refuser, either from (assumed) LL. refusare to refuse, v. freq. of L. refundere to pour back, give back, restore (see Refund to repay), or. fr. L. recusare to decline, refuse cf. Accuse, Ruse), influenced by L. refutare to drive back, repel, refute. Cf. Refute.]

6. Refusenoun

   refusal

   Etymology: [F. refuser, either from (assumed) LL. refusare to refuse, v. freq. of L. refundere to pour back, give back, restore (see Refund to repay), or. fr. L. recusare to decline, refuse cf. Accuse, Ruse), influenced by L. refutare to drive back, repel, refute. Cf. Refute.]

7. Refusenoun

   that which is refused or rejected as useless; waste or worthless matter

   Etymology: [F. refuser, either from (assumed) LL. refusare to refuse, v. freq. of L. refundere to pour back, give back, restore (see Refund to repay), or. fr. L. recusare to decline, refuse cf. Accuse, Ruse), influenced by L. refutare to drive back, repel, refute. Cf. Refute.]

8. Refuseadjective

   refused; rejected; hence; left as unworthy of acceptance; of no value; worthless

   Etymology: [F. refuser, either from (assumed) LL. refusare to refuse, v. freq. of L. refundere to pour back, give back, restore (see Refund to repay), or. fr. L. recusare to decline, refuse cf. Accuse, Ruse), influenced by L. refutare to drive back, repel, refute. Cf. Refute.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Refuse

   rē-fūz′, v.t. to reject: to deny, as a request, &c.: to disown: to fail to receive, to repel: (mil.) to hold troops back from the regular alignment.—v.i. to decline acceptance: not to comply.—adj. Refū′sable, capable of being refused.—ns. Refū′sal, denial of anything requested: rejection: the right of taking in preference to others; Rēfū′ser. [Fr. refuser, prob. due to confusion of L. refutāre, to drive back, recusāre, to make an objection against.]

2. Refuse

   ref′ūs, adj. refused: worthless.—n. that which is rejected or left as worthless: dross.

3. Refuse

   rē-fūz′, v.t. to melt again.—n. Rēfū′sion, repeated fusion or melting, as of metals: restoration.

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. refuse

   Song lyrics by refuse -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by refuse on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Elude
   • Keep
   • React

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'refuse' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4220

2. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'refuse' in Verbs Frequency: #218

How to pronounce refuse?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say refuse in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of refuse in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of refuse in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of refuse in a Sentence

1. The Army veteran:

   … Part of the problem [is] the radical socialists and the Democrat Party — Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer — and another part of the problem [is] the career politicians and the Republican Party who simply refuse to stand up and fight for what's right. And I'm not a career politician.

2. Ajit Pai:

   It is exceptionally rare to have the Department of Justice refuse to sign onto an FCC brief, but this says that the DOJ doesn’t trust that this is legal, president Obama’s own Department of Justice implicitly is questioning whether or not this is government overreach.

3. Benjamin Netanyahu:

   I demand these ministers stop their undermining, stop the attacks, i demand that they close ranks behind the proper policy for leading the nation - for its security, economy and lowering the cost of living, in every aspect. If they agree to do so, we can continue to work together. If they refuse, we will draw conclusions, and go to the voter.

4. Dana Nessel:

   Upon accepting a referral ... the law does not provide an agency with discretion to refuse to provide the accepted child or individual with state-contracted foster care case management or adoption services that conflict with its sincerely held religious beliefs.

5. Vladimir Putin:

   We think it is an enormous mistake to refuse to cooperate with the Syrian government and its armed forces who are valiantly fighting terrorism face to face, we should finally acknowledge that no one but President Assad’s armed forces and (Kurdish) militia are truly fighting the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations in Syria.

Images & Illustrations of refuse

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