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

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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 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 Time, at 3 am, to watch a mother polar bear and her two cubs feeding beneath a sun that refuses to set. — Sarah Kingdom, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026 Frightened that she may be plagued by the same mental illness that felled her mom, Gemma stubbornly refuses to believe anything is wrong. — Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026 Red Dead Redemption 2 Ultimate Edition Red Dead Redemption 2 is the kind of game that refuses to rush you. — Stackcommerce Team, PC Magazine, 21 Aug. 2026 In the series, Kevin's owners divorce, and Kevin refuses to take a side, leading him to a pet rescue with odd and hilarious side quests. — Maddie Rhodes, USA Today, 17 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
  • So when Alex rejects the author of a romantasy novel entitled The Goblin Seed that turns out to be a bestseller, all hell breaks loose.
    — Joy Press, Vanity Fair, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Manjari Sihare-Sutin, who heads Sotheby’s South Asian Modern and Contemporary department, said her team rejects an average of two works ahead of every sale because of authenticity concerns.
    — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 19 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
  • If a cyclist ignores a moving violation summons and gets stopped again while cycling, there’s nothing the NYPD can do other than issue more moving violation summonses that will be ignored and go unpaid.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 24 Aug. 2026
  • But that’s a much smaller part of the story than the argument suggests, and ignores that the majority of the competitive stakes in major European divisions are driven by the quest for continental competition.
    — Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of ignores

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Cite this Entry

“Refuses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refuses. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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