refuse

CEFRA2

/ɹɪˈfjuːz/

verb · noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To say that you will not do or accept something.

  2. 02

    noun

    Waste material that is thrown away.

Examples

  • I refuse to be treated like a slave by you.

  • You did wrong to refuse his help.

At a glance

Sits at A2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
3
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈɹɛfjuːs/
  • /ɹiːˈfjuːz/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

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

  2. To decline (a request or demand).

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. Discarded, rejected.

More examples

In context

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

  • I refuse to listen to this nonsense any more.

  • My request for a pay rise was refused.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The dog began to blank its food after the owner changed the brand.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

Borrowed into late Middle English from Middle French refusé, past participle of refuser (“to refuse”). Displaced native Middle English wernen (“to refuse”) likely due to the similar sounding Middle English warnen