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Refuse synonyms

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decline
To cause to slope or bend downward.
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  1. To cause to slope or bend downward.
  2. To bend, turn, or slope downward or aside
  3. To draw to a gradual close:
rubbish
Worthless, foolish ideas, statements, etc.; nonsense
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  1. Worthless, foolish ideas, statements, etc.; nonsense
  2. Worthless material.
  3. Any material rejected or thrown away as worthless; trash; refuse
litter
The young borne at one time by a dog, cat, or other animal which normally bears several young at a delivery
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  1. The young borne at one time by a dog, cat, or other animal which normally bears several young at a delivery
  2. An absorbent granular or pelletized material used to cover the bottom of a receptacle (litter box) into which a domestic pet, esp. a cat, is trained to urinate and defecate
  3. Carelessly discarded refuse, such as wastepaper:
waste
An unusable or unwanted substance or material, such as a waste product.
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  1. An unusable or unwanted substance or material, such as a waste product.
  2. A wasting or being wasted
  3. The act or an instance of wasting or the condition of being wasted:
leavings
A worthless surfeit of material, as leftovers from a meal or scrap lumber.
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  1. A worthless surfeit of material, as leftovers from a meal or scrap lumber.
  2. A worthless and incidental residuum, as scraps from a meal or shavings or sawdust from wood.
  3. Scraps or remains; residue:
reject
To refuse to take, agree to, accede to, use, believe, etc.
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  1. To refuse to take, agree to, accede to, use, believe, etc.
  2. To pass over or skip from (a record set by a record changer) without playing
  3. To turn down (an applicant, as for a job); refuse to accept.
repudiate
To refuse to have any dealings with.
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  1. To refuse to have any dealings with.
  2. To deny the truth of (a charge, etc.)
  3. To refuse to accept or support; deny the validity or authority of (a belief, a treaty, etc.)
deny
To refuse to believe; reject:
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  1. To refuse to believe; reject:
  2. To refuse to acknowledge as one's own; disown; repudiate
  3. To give a refusal to; turn down or away:
spurn
(Archaic) To push or drive away contemptuously with or as with the foot
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  1. (Archaic) To push or drive away contemptuously with or as with the foot
  2. To show contempt or disdain in refusing or rejecting
  3. To refuse or reject with contempt or disdain; scorn
resist
To oppose actively; fight, argue, or work against
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  1. To oppose actively; fight, argue, or work against
  2. To withstand; oppose; fend off; stand firm against; withstand the action of
  3. To refuse to cooperate with, submit to, etc.
repel
To drive or force back; hold or ward off
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  1. To drive or force back; hold or ward off
  2. To refuse to accept (a person); spurn
  3. To refuse to accept, agree to, or submit to; reject
scorn
To reject or refuse with derision:
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  1. To reject or refuse with derision:
  2. To consider or reject (doing something) as beneath one's dignity:
  3. To consider or treat as contemptible or unworthy:
pass-up
(Idiomatic) To refuse (not accept); forgo.
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  1. (Idiomatic) To refuse (not accept); forgo.
  2. Used other than as an idiom: see pass,‎ up.
disallow
To reject as invalid, untrue, or improper.
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  1. To reject as invalid, untrue, or improper.
  2. To refuse to allow; reject as untrue, invalid, or illegal
forbid
To command (someone) not to do something:
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  1. To command (someone) not to do something:
  2. To have the effect of preventing; preclude:
  3. To command against the doing or use of (something); prohibit:
demur
To voice opposition; object:
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  1. To voice opposition; object:
  2. To hesitate because of one's doubts or objections; have scruples; object
  3. To deny the legal sufficiency of an adversary’s claim, without admitting or denying the truth of the underlying facts, usually on a technical legal basis rather than the merits of the claim; to file a demurrer. To deny the legal sufficiency of an adversary’s claim, without admitting or denying the truth of the underlying facts, usually on a technical legal basis rather than the merits of the claim; to file a demurrer.
protest
To participate in a public demonstration in opposition to (something):
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  1. To participate in a public demonstration in opposition to (something):
  2. To express a strong objection to (something):
  3. (Law) To declare an objection and reservation of rights of (a claim being made) while taking an action that would otherwise imply consent or agreement.
withdraw
To become detached from social or emotional involvement:
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  1. To become detached from social or emotional involvement:
  2. To remove from use, consideration, etc.
  3. To leave or return, as from a military position.
hold back
(Idiomatic) to delay, especially in school
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  1. (Idiomatic) to delay, especially in school
  2. (Idiomatic) to contain; stop
withhold
To take out or deduct (taxes, etc.) from wages or salary
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  1. To take out or deduct (taxes, etc.) from wages or salary
  2. To keep (a physical object that one has obtained) to oneself rather than giving it back to its owner.
  3. To refrain from granting, permitting, etc.; refuse
shun
To stay away from; not go to:
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  1. To stay away from; not go to:
  2. To keep away from; avoid scrupulously or consistently, often, specif., as a practice by a group against a co-worker, coreligionist, etc. who has fallen out of favor
  3. To escape (a threatening evil, an unwelcome task etc).
evade
To avoid complying with or fulfilling:
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  1. To avoid complying with or fulfilling:
  2. To escape or avoid, especially by cleverness or deceit:
  3. To avoid doing or answering directly; get around; get out of
dodge
To use tricks, deceits, or evasions; be shifty
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  1. To use tricks, deceits, or evasions; be shifty
  2. To move or twist quickly aside; shift suddenly, as to avoid a blow
  3. To move aside or in a given direction by shifting or twisting suddenly:
ignore
To disregard deliberately; pay no attention to; refuse to consider
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  1. To disregard deliberately; pay no attention to; refuse to consider
  2. (Law) To reject (a bill of indictment) for lack of evidence
turn down
(Idiomatic) To refuse, decline, or deny.
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  1. (Idiomatic) To refuse, decline, or deny.
  2. (Idiomatic) To reposition by turning, flipping, etc. in a downward direction.
  3. (Idiomatic) To reduce the amount of something by means of a control, such as the volume, heat, or light.
recoil
To fall back; return:
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  1. To fall back; return:
balk
(--- Baseball) To make an illegal motion before pitching, allowing one or more base runners to advance one base.
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  1. (--- Baseball) To make an illegal motion before pitching, allowing one or more base runners to advance one base.
  2. To stop short and refuse to go on:
  3. To stop and obstinately refuse to move or act
beg-off
(Idiomatic) To avoid, or cancel some event that one has previously arranged with someone.
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  1. (Idiomatic) To avoid, or cancel some event that one has previously arranged with someone.
regret
To feel regret.
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  1. To feel regret.
  2. To feel sorry, disappointed, distressed, or remorseful about:
  3. To feel sorry about or mourn for (a person or thing gone, lost, etc.)
dissent
To have or express an opinion different from a prevailing or official position; disagree.
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  1. To have or express an opinion different from a prevailing or official position; disagree.
  2. To openly differ with or reject an official, esp. political, belief, procedure, etc.
  3. (Law) To reach a conclusion contrary to the majority of the judges deciding a case; render a minority opinion.
disapprove
To have an unfavorable opinion:
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  1. To have an unfavorable opinion:
  2. To have or express an unfavorable opinion of; consider (something) wrong; condemn
  3. To refuse to approve; reject
set-aside
To void or annul a judicial decision, order, and so on, usually on a motion to set aside by the party that is affected detrimentally and based upon some irregularity in the original proceeding. To void or annul a judicial decision, order, and so on, usually on a motion to set aside by the party that is affected detrimentally and based upon some irregularity in the original proceeding.
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  1. To void or annul a judicial decision, order, and so on, usually on a motion to set aside by the party that is affected detrimentally and based upon some irregularity in the original proceeding. To void or annul a judicial decision, order, and so on, usually on a motion to set aside by the party that is affected detrimentally and based upon some irregularity in the original proceeding.
turn-away
To refuse to admit someone
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  1. To refuse to admit someone
  2. (Intransitive) to rotate the body or head so as not to face someone or something
  3. (Intransitive) to bend or turn from a fixed course
brush-off
To depart with a sweeping motion.
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  1. To depart with a sweeping motion.
  2. (Idiomatic) To disregard (something), to dismiss or ignore (someone), as unimportant.
  3. Used other than as an idiom: see brush,‎ off. To remove something with a brush.
hold out
(Idiomatic, usually with on) To withhold something.
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  1. (Idiomatic, usually with on) To withhold something.
  2. (Idiomatic) To survive, endure.
  3. Used other than as an idiom: see hold,"Ž out.
hold off
(Idiomatic) To delay someone or something temporarily; to keep at bay.
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  1. (Idiomatic) To delay someone or something temporarily; to keep at bay.
  2. (Idiomatic, intransitive) To delay commencing an action (until some specified time or event has passed).
decline
To draw to a gradual close:
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  1. To draw to a gradual close:
  2. To cause to bend or slope downward or aside
  3. To degrade or lower oneself; stoop:
dismiss
To direct or allow to leave:
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  1. To direct or allow to leave:
  2. To refuse to accept or recognize; reject:
  3. (Law) To adjudicate (a cause of action) as insufficient to proceed further in court because of some deficiency in law or fact.
reject
To refuse to give sufficient parental affection or care to (a child or young animal).
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  1. To refuse to give sufficient parental affection or care to (a child or young animal).
  2. To turn down (an applicant, as for a job); refuse to accept.
  3. To pass over or skip from (a record set by a record changer) without playing
spurn
(Archaic) To push or drive away contemptuously with or as with the foot
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  1. (Archaic) To push or drive away contemptuously with or as with the foot
  2. To show contempt or disdain in refusing or rejecting
  3. To refuse or reject with contempt or disdain; scorn
turn down
(Idiomatic) To reposition by turning, flipping, etc. in a downward direction.
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  1. (Idiomatic) To reposition by turning, flipping, etc. in a downward direction.
  2. (Idiomatic) To refuse, decline, or deny.
  3. (Idiomatic) To reduce the amount of something by means of a control, such as the volume, heat, or light.
nix
Not so; no.
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  1. Not so; no.
  2. To forbid, refuse, or veto:
  3. (Informal) To disapprove of or put a stop to
deny
To refuse to acknowledge as one's own; disown; repudiate
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  1. To refuse to acknowledge as one's own; disown; repudiate
  2. To refuse to believe; reject:
  3. To give a refusal to; turn down or away:
disallow
To reject as invalid, untrue, or improper.
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  1. To reject as invalid, untrue, or improper.
  2. To refuse to allow; reject as untrue, invalid, or illegal
turn down
(Idiomatic) To refuse, decline, or deny.
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  1. (Idiomatic) To refuse, decline, or deny.
  2. (Idiomatic) To reposition by turning, flipping, etc. in a downward direction.
  3. (Idiomatic) To reduce the amount of something by means of a control, such as the volume, heat, or light.
withhold
To take out or deduct (taxes, etc.) from wages or salary
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  1. To take out or deduct (taxes, etc.) from wages or salary
  2. To keep (a physical object that one has obtained) to oneself rather than giving it back to its owner.
  3. To refrain from granting, permitting, etc.; refuse

Synonym Study

  • To spurn is to refuse or reject with contempt or disdain she spurned his attentions
  • Repudiate implies the disowning, disavowal, or casting off with condemnation of a person or thing as having no authority, worth, validity, truth, etc. to repudiate the claims of faith healers
  • Reject stresses a negative or antagonistic attitude and implies positive refusal to accept, use, believe, etc. they rejected the damaged goods
  • Decline implies courtesy in expressing one's nonacceptance of an invitation, proposal, etc. he declined the nomination
  • Refuse is a direct, sometimes even blunt term, implying an emphatic denial of a request, demand, etc. to refuse a person money, to refuse permission
Find another word for refuse. In this page you can discover 75 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for refuse, like: decline, rubbish, litter, waste, leavings, reject, repudiate, deny, spurn, resist and repel.

Sentence Examples

  • I can't refuse to answer you.

  • Having no way to refuse, she followed him to the campfire of their host.

  • He was glad I was free to refuse him.

  • What are you going to do if we refuse to follow you?

  • One day you are dull, and the next you refuse to see anyone.

More sentences →

Words that mention refuse in the Dictionary

Words near refuse in the Thesaurus