refuse
Etymology 1Synonyms Related terms
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Etymology 1
Borrowed into late Middle English from Middle French refusé, past participle of refuser ("to refuse").
Pronunciation Adjectiverefuse
Nounrefuse (uncountable)
Synonyms- 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).
Pronunciation Verbrefuse (refuses, present participle refusing; simple past and past participle refused)
- (transitive) To decline (a request or demand).
- My request for a pay rise was refused.
- (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.
- (ditransitive) To withhold (something) from (someone); to not give it to them or to bar them from having it.
- (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
- (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.
Conjugation of refuse
- (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
- (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 [...]
refuse (refuses, present participle refusing; simple past and past participle refused)
- To fuse again, as with, or after, heating or melting.
Conjugation of refuse
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