Macmillan Dictionary

Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

refuse

 - definition
 
 
 
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
verb American English pronunciation: refuse /rɪˈfjuz/ 
Word Forms
Close
present tense
I/you/we/theyrefuse
he/she/itrefuses
present participlerefusing
past tenserefused
past participlerefused
Other entries for this word

Related dictionary definitions

  1. 1
    [intransitive/transitive] to say you will not do something that someone has asked you to do

    Mom asked him to apologize, but he refused.

    refuse to do something:

    How could he refuse to help his own son?

    flatly refuse (=refuse in a firm and sometimes impolite way):

    Senior executives flatly refused to comment as they left the meeting.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of refuse
  2. 2
    [intransitive/transitive] to say that you do not want what someone has offered to you

    It seemed impolite to refuse when she invited me for dinner.

    Alternative therapies are suggested for patients who refuse conventional medical treatment.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of refuse
  3. 3
    [transitive] to not give someone what they ask for, or to not let someone do what they ask to do

    Some landowners refuse permission to use footpaths on their land.

    refuse someone something:

    Judge Mackey refused the defendant the right to appeal.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of refuse

This is the American English definition of refuse. View British English definition of refuse.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

 

charticle

a news article that consists of a chart … and only has a small amount of text

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day

picture messaging

the sending of images and photographs from one mobile phone to another

Open Dictionary

never event

an event that should never occur in a healthcare setting …

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog