refuses

verb

present tense third-person singular of refuse
1
as in denies
to be unwilling to grant the reclusive movie star usually refuses requests for interviews

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rejects
to show unwillingness to accept, do, engage in, or agree to she refused the award, citing the hard work of others who deserved the recognition more than she did

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of refuses But Buddy, the feature debut of Casper Kelly, lets the genre’s relentlessly upbeat tone slowly curdle in the opening sequence, in which one of the kids refuses to play along with day’s lesson about being brave and trying new things. — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026 With his final book, however, Morris refuses to draw conclusions, letting the ambiguity of Surrealists’ meanings stand. — Kelly Presutti, ARTnews.com, 28 Aug. 2026 But when one child refuses to play along, Buddy is not pleased and cracks begin to appear in this seemingly perfect world. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2026 But her mother, Belén, has already taken control and refuses to step aside. — Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026 In the event that Bally’s refuses to respond with full candor and information, the City Council may need to consider options up to and including suspending the Bally’s license. — Joe Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026 The channel, which is banned inside Iran, refuses to disclose its private donors. — Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026 Surf, sail and pick up padel For every traveler who wants to kick back and relax on their vacation, there’s another who refuses to sit still. — Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 24 Aug. 2026 Inside Southwest Trading Company, however, David Bible refuses to sell anything bearing the highway’s logo. — Harry Bruinius, Christian Science Monitor, 24 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refuses
  1. denies
  2. rejects
  3. declines
  4. ignores
Verb
  • In the lawsuit, Kupsh acknowledges attending most of the demonstrations but denies being a ringleader, blocking anyone from campus walkways or refusing orders.
    — Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Meta denies these claims, asserting human decisions guide workforce management.
    — Forbes.com, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of denies
Verb
  • When a human accepts, rejects or overrides the agent, the organization can reconstruct why—not from a comment field that made sense to the person who wrote it, but from a structured record that holds its meaning after they're gone.
    — Krupesh Bhat, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Israel rejects this, viewing the area as disputed rather than occupied.
    — Pesha Magid Reuters, Arkansas Online, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of rejects
Verb
  • The fee applies during the first 13 years of the agreement and gradually declines over the remaining initial term.
    — Sydney Sasser, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Recent findings show that early-career workers – ages 22 to 25 – in occupations most vulnerable to AI automation, such as software development and customer service, have experienced employment declines.
    — Maria Black, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of declines
Verb
  • But that formulation ignores the crucial matter of what those things do to the people who use them.
    — Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The senator’s second argument, concerning conference expansion, ignores the fact that the Act places no restrictions on UConn’s ability to join any conference.
    — Randy Levine, Hartford Courant, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of ignores

Browse Nearby Words

refusers
refuses
refusing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Refuses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refuses. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of apiary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All