Definitions for refuse
ˈrɛf yusrefuse

Princeton's WordNet(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. garbage, refuse, food waste, scraps(verb)

   food that is discarded (as from a kitchen)

2. refuse, decline(verb)

   show unwillingness towards

   "he declined to join the group on a hike"

3. refuse, reject, pass up, turn down, decline(verb)

   refuse to accept

   "He refused my offer of hospitality"

4. defy, resist, refuse(verb)

   elude, especially in a baffling way

   "This behavior defies explanation"

5. deny, refuse(verb)

   refuse to let have

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

6. resist, reject, refuse(verb)

   resist immunologically the introduction of some foreign tissue or organ

   "His body rejected the liver of the donor"

7. reject, turn down, turn away, refuse(verb)

   refuse entrance or membership

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

Webster Dictionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Refuse(verb)

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

2. Refuse(verb)

   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

3. Refuse(verb)

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

4. Refuse(verb)

   to disown

5. Refuse(verb)

   to deny compliance; not to comply

6. Refuse(noun)

   refusal

7. Refuse(noun)

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

8. Refuse(adj)

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

Origin: [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.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. refuse

   Materials and particles other than recycling that is put in a bin.

   The refuse collection was changed from weekly to a fortnightly collection due to the increase in the number of people recycling every week.

   Submitted by MaryC on October 26, 2016  

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.

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

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

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. Jim Craig:

   They refuse to do that.

2. Del Greco:

   It is difficult to refuse them.

3. Tamas Varga:

   Global oil stocks refuse to come lower.

4. State District Judge Tammy Kemp:

   I just could not refuse Sheriff Browns.

5. Mario Puzo:

   I'll make him an offer he can't refuse.

Images & Illustrations of refuse

Popularity rank by frequency of use