refuse

See also refusé

English

Etymology 1

Apparently from Old French refuse (French refusé), past participle of refuser ‘to refuse’, as Etymology 2, below.

Pronunciation

• enPR: rĕ'fyo͞os, IPA: /ˈɹɛfjuːs/, SAMPA: /"rEfju:s/

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

• discards
• garbage (US)
• rubbish
• trash (US)
• See also Wikisaurus:trash

Translations

items or material that have been discarded

Catalan: rebuig (ca) m. Chinese: Mandarin: 垃圾 (zh) (lājī, lèsè) Czech: odpad (cs) m. Finnish: jäte (fi) French: ordures (fr) f. pl., déchets (fr) m. pl.

German: Abfall (de) m., Müll (de) m. Italian: rifiuti m plural Japanese: ごみ (ja) (gomi) Korean: 쓰레기 (ko) (sseuregi) Russian: отбросы (ru) (otbrósy) m. pl., отходы (ru) (otxódy) m. pl., мусор (ru) (músor) m. Spanish: basura (es) f. Swahili: kanusho (sw), dinda (sw)

Etymology 2

From French refuser, from popular Latin *refusare, from the past participle of refundere ‘refund’.

Pronunciation

• enPR: rĭfyo͞oz', IPA: /ɹɪˈfjuːz/, SAMPA: /rI"fju:z/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

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.

   I refuse to listen to this nonsense any more.

   • 2011 September 27, Alistair Magowan, “Bayern Munich 2 - 0 Man City”, BBC Sport:

     City were outclassed thereafter and Roberto Mancini said that substitute Carlos Tevez refused to play.

2. (intransitive) To decline a request or demand, forbear; to withhold permission.

   I asked the star if I could have her autograph, but she refused.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Synonyms

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

Translations

(transitive) decline (request, demand)

Arabic: رفض (ar) (ráfaDa) Catalan: refusar (ca), rebutjar (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 拒絕 (cmn), 拒绝 (cmn) (jùjué), 回絕 (zh), 回绝 (zh) (huíjué) Dutch: weigeren (nl) Finnish: kieltää (fi) French: refuser (fr) German: sich weigern, verweigern, ablehnen (de) Haitian Creole: refize Hungarian: visszautasít (hu), megtagad (hu) Italian: rifiutare (it)

Japanese: 断る (ja) (ことわる, kotowaru), 拒む (ja) (こばむ, kobamu), 否む (ja) (いなむ, inamu) Korean: 거절하다 (ko) (geojeol-hada) Latin: abnegō (la), recūsō (la) Polish: odrzucać Portuguese: recusar (pt) Russian: отказывать (ru) (otkázyvat’) impf., отказать (ru) (otkazát’) pf., отклонять (ru) (otklonját’) impf., отклонить (ru) (otklonít’) pf. Scottish Gaelic: diùlt (gd) Spanish: rehusar (es) Swahili: gairi (sw), dinda (sw), kanusha (sw) Swedish: vägra (sv) Telugu: నిరాకరించు (te) (niraakarinchu)

(intransitive) decline a request or demand

Arabic: رفض (ar) (ráfaDa) Catalan: refusar (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 拒絕 (zh), 拒绝 (zh) (jùjué) Esperanto: rifuzi (eo) French: refuser (fr) German: sich weigern (de) Haitian Creole: refize

Japanese: 断る (ja) (ことわる, kotowaru) Polish: odmówić (pl) Russian: отказываться (ru) (otkázyvat’sja) impf., отказаться (ru) (otkazát’sja) pf. Scottish Gaelic: diùlt (gd) Swahili: gairi (sw), dinda (sw), kanusha (sw) Swedish: vägra (sv) Telugu: నిరాకరించు (te) (niraakarinchu)

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French

Verb

refuse

1. first-person singular present indicative of refuser
2. third-person singular present indicative of refuser
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of refuser
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of refuser
5. second-person singular imperative of refuser

Anagrams

• férues