Borrowed into late Middle English from Middle French refusé, past participle of refuser ("to refuse").

• enPR: rĕfʹyo͞os, IPA: /ˈɹɛfjuːs/

refuse

1. Discarded, rejected.

refuse (uncountable)

1. Collectively, items or material that have been discarded; rubbish, garbage.

• discards
• garbage (US)
• rubbish (UK)
• trash (US)
• See also Thesaurus:trash

• French: ordures, déchets, détritus
• German: Abfall, Müll
• Italian: rifiuti
• Portuguese: lixo, descartado
• Russian: отбро́сы
• Spanish: basura, desechos

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

• enPR: rĭfyo͞ozʹ, IPA: /ɹɪˈfjuːz/

refuse (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.

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.

3. (ditransitive) To withhold (something) from (someone); to not give it to them or to bar them from having it.
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.
   • c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act II, scene ii]:

     Refuse thy name.

• (decline) decline, reject, nill, say no to, turn down, veto, withsake, withsay
• (decline a request or demand) say no, forbear

• French: refuser
• German: sich weigern, verweigern, ablehnen, abschlagen
• Italian: rifiutare
• Portuguese: recusar
• Russian: отка́зывать
• Spanish: rehusar

• French: refuser
• German: sich weigern
• Italian: rifiutarsi
• Portuguese: recusar
• Russian: отка́зываться
• Spanish: refusar

refuse

1. (obsolete) refusal
   • 1600, [Torquato Tasso], “The Twelfth Booke of Godfrey of Bulloigne”, in Edward Fairefax [i.e., Edward Fairfax], transl., Godfrey of Bulloigne, or The Recouerie of Ierusalem. […], London: […] Ar[nold] Hatfield, for I[saac] Iaggard and M[atthew] Lownes, →OCLC ↗, stanza 13, page 215 ↗:

     This ſpoken, readie with a proud refuſe [...]

From re- + fuse.

• enPR: rēfyo͞ozʹ, IPA: /ɹiːˈfjuːz/

refuse (refuses, present participle refusing; simple past and past participle refused)

1. To fuse again, as with, or after, heating or melting.

• refusion