What does "refuse" mean?
Collectively, items or material that have been discarded; rubbish, garbage.
Refuse
/ˈɹɛfjuːs/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Collectively, items or material that have been discarded; rubbish, garbage.
- Grammar: refuse is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: garbage, abjure, abstain, afterglow.
- Useful contrasts: alright, challenging, civil order status.
- Usage evidence: I refuse to be treated like a slave by you.
How to use "refuse"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "refuse" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "refuse" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "refuse" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "refuse" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "refuse" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "garbage" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "refuse", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Collectively, items or material that have been discarded; rubbish, garbage. uncountable
- 2 refusal obsolete
"This ſpoken, readie with a proud refuſe [...]"
- 3 food that is discarded (as from a kitchen) wordnet
Verb
- 1 To decline (a request or demand). transitive
"My request for a pay rise was refused."
- 2 To fuse again, as with, or after, heating or melting.
- 3 show unwillingness towards wordnet
- 4 To decline a request or demand, forbear; to withhold permission. intransitive
"I refuse to listen to this nonsense any more."
- 5 refuse to let have wordnet
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 To withhold (something) from (someone); to not give it to them or to bar them from having it. ditransitive
"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."
- 7 not accept as true wordnet
- 8 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"
- 9 refuse entrance or membership wordnet
- 10 To disown. obsolete, transitive
"Refuse thy name."
- 11 elude, especially in a baffling way wordnet
- 12 resist immunologically the introduction of some foreign tissue or organ wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Discarded, rejected.
Antonyms
Example
"I refuse to be treated like a slave by you."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "refuse"?
Common synonyms include: garbage, abjure, abstain, afterglow, afterimage, balance.
How do you use "refuse" in a sentence?
I refuse to be treated like a slave by you.
How do you pronounce "refuse"?
Pronounced /ˈɹɛfjuːs/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Borrowed into late Middle English from Middle French refusé, past participle of refuser (“to refuse”). Displaced native Middle English wernen (“to refuse”)
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).
Etymology 3
From re- + fuse.