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 Why this 78-year-old professor refuses to move Marvin's frustration goes beyond having robots share the sidewalk. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026 The wart that refuses to go away is whatever is up with Vicki and Tamra. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026 If the person still refuses to move, resist the urge to keep arguing. — Angela Haupt, Time, 21 Oct. 2026 In a culture that refuses to accept its responsibilities, its complicities, we are all reduced, in some essential measure, to a state of savagery. — David L. Ulin, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026 That ending In the film, Bela refuses to let Other Mommy into her heart, per the demon’s constant request. — William Earl, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026 Jackie is one reason the earlier book refuses to become a simple brief for more voluntary family. — Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2026 The South Korean announcement came days after its President Lee Jae Myung threatened to take unspecified punitive steps if Ukraine refuses to apologize over the revelation. — ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026 The Duke of Sussex has already reunited with his father King Charles on multiple occasions, but William reportedly refuses to be in the same room as Harry. — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 6 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refuses
  1. denies
  2. rejects
  3. declines
  4. ignores
Verb
  • Lula’s victory also denies Trump another political ally in Latin America, which include Argentinian President Javier Milei and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
    — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 26 Oct. 2026
  • The investigation ended without charges against Collins or her staff, and her office denies wrongdoing.
    — Emma Specter, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of denies
Verb
  • However, a large percentage of the Brazilian electorate also consistently rejects the prospect of voting for another Bolsonaro for president.
    — David Unsworth, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Human Rights Watch said those expulsions amounted to war crimes, a charge that Israel rejects.
    — Ruth Sherlock, NPR, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of rejects
Verb
  • The Salt Lake County clerk requests assistance to secure the polls, but the sheriff, unsure about jurisdiction, declines.
    — Barton Gellman, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Steep declines across the tech space, led by Meta and the chip sector, saw Nasdaq log its worst day since June.
    — Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of declines
Verb
  • Any strategy that ignores that skepticism is unlikely to survive the next election or to be funded by the Congress that is likely to emerge from it.
    — Philip H. Gordon, Foreign Affairs, 12 Oct. 2026
  • But the unbridled embrace of aquaculture as a sustainable answer to feeding the planet ignores some very real costs.
    — Ian Urbina, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 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 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All