refuse

From Middle French refusé, past participle of refuser (“to refuse”).

• enPR: rĕfʹyo͞os, IPA^(key): /ˈɹɛfjuːs/

refuse (comparative more refuse, superlative most refuse)

1. Discarded, rejected.

refuse (uncountable)

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

• discards
• garbage (US)
• rubbish (UK)
• trash (US)
• See also Thesaurus:trash

From Old French refuser, from Vulgar Latin *refusare, a blend of Classical Latin refutō and recusō.

• enPR: rĭfyo͞ozʹ, IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈfjuːz/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːz

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.

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

   I refuse to listen to this nonsense any more.

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

   • Bible, Isa. i. 20

     If ye refuse […] ye shall be devoured with the sword.

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

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

   • 2018, Michael Cottakis – LSE, “Colliding worlds: Donald Trump and the European Union”, in LSE's blog‎:

     Trump has explicitly refused to deal with the European Commission, seeking instead to conduct bilateral relations with individual EU countries.

1. (military) 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

2. (obsolete, transitive) To disown.
   • Shakespeare

     Refuse thy name.

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

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

refuse

1. (obsolete) refusal

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Fairfax to this entry?)

re- +‎ fuse

refuse (third-person singular simple present refuses, present participle refusing, simple past and past participle refused)

1. To melt again.

• refusion

refuse

1. inflection of refuser:
   1. first-person and third-person singular present indicative
   2. first-person and third-person singular present subjunctive
   3. second-person singular imperative

• férues

refūse

1. vocative masculine singular of refūsus

• refuse in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press