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refuse

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: refusé and re-fuse

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed into late Middle English from Middle French refusé, past participle of refuser (“to refuse”). Displaced native Middle English wernen (“to refuse”)

Pronunciation

Adjective

refuse (comparative more refuse, superlative most refuse)

  1. Discarded, rejected.

Noun

refuse (uncountable)

  1. Collectively, items or material that have been discarded; rubbish, garbage.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English refusen, from Old French refuser, from Vulgar Latin *refūsāre, a blend of Classical Latin refūtāre (whence also refute) and recūsāre (whence also recuse).

Pronunciation

Verb

refuse (third-person singular simple present refuses, present participle refusing, simple past and past participle refused)

  1. (transitive) To decline (a request or demand).
    My request for a pay rise was refused.
    • 1955 January, Charles E. Lee, “The Glasgow Underground Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 24:
      Eventually, the railway opened on Monday, December 14, 1896, with a universal fare of 1d. collected at the turnstiles, and conditions were immediately chaotic, as many passengers travelled round and round, and refused to leave the cars.
  2. (intransitive) To decline a request or demand, forbear; to withhold permission.
    I refuse to listen to this nonsense any more.
    I asked the star if I could have her autograph, but she refused.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 1:20:
      If ye refuse […] ye shall be devoured with the sword.
    • 1948 March 1, “Duel in Korea”, in World Week, volume 12, number 5, Scholastic Corporation, page 10, column 2:
      The U. N. sent a commission to arrange for election of a Korean government. Russia and her satellites declined to cooperate with this Commission. Russia refused to let the Commission hold an election in north Korea, or even to enter north Korea. In southern Korea Leftist parties refused to meet with the Commission.
    • 2011 September 27, Alistair Magowan, “Bayern Munich 2 - 0 Man City”, in BBC Sport‎:
      City were outclassed thereafter and Roberto Mancini said that substitute Carlos Tevez refused to play.
    • 2018, Michael Cottakis – LSE, “Colliding worlds: Donald Trump and the European Union”, in LSE's blog‎:
      Trump has explicitly refused to deal with the European Commission, seeking instead to conduct bilateral relations with individual EU countries.
    • 2022 November 2, Paul Bigland, “New trains, old trains, and splendid scenery”, in RAIL, number 969, page 58:
      My thoughts are disturbed by a man and pooch trying to get off the front of the train. Despite hitting the door button, they refused to open.
  3. (ditransitive) To withhold (something) from (someone); to not give it to them or to bar them from having it.
    • 1991 December 15, Saadia Everett, “Protest Beatings”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 22, page 4:
      If we bang or scream they will spray us with some pepper or something else that's in an aeresol [sic] can, and they wear gas masks, while the rest of us have to breathe the fumes in, and it makes us very sick and they refuse us medical treatment.
  4. (military) To throw back, or cause to keep back (as the centre, a wing, or a flank), out of the regular alignment when troops are about to engage the enemy.
    to refuse the right wing while the left wing attacks
  5. (obsolete, transitive) To disown.
Usage notes
Conjugation
More information infinitive, present tense ...

† Archaic or obsolete.

Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

refuse

  1. (obsolete) refusal

Etymology 3

From re- +‎ fuse.

Pronunciation

Verb

refuse (third-person singular simple present refuses, present participle refusing, simple past and past participle refused)

  1. To fuse again, as with, or after, heating or melting.
Conjugation
More information infinitive, present tense ...
See also
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French

Pronunciation

Verb

refuse

  1. inflection of refuser:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

Galician

Verb

refuse

  1. inflection of refusar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Latin

Pronunciation

Participle

refūse

  1. vocative masculine singular of refūsus

References

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