refuse
pronunciation
How to pronounce refuse in British English:
UK [rɪˈfjuːz , ˈrefjuːs]
How to pronounce refuse in American English:
US [rɪˈfjuːz , ˈrefjuːs]
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- Noun:
- food that is discarded (as from a kitchen)
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- Verb:
- show unwillingness towards
- refuse to accept
- elude, especially in a baffling way
- refuse to let have
- resist immunologically the introduction of some foreign tissue or organ
- refuse entrance or membership
Word Origin
- refuse
- refuse: [14] Refuse comes via Old French refuser from an unrecorded Vulgar Latin *refūsāre. It is not altogether clear where this came from, for it has no direct Latin antecedent. One theory is that it represents a blend of Latin recūsāre ‘refuse’ (source of English recusant [16]), a compound verb based on causa ‘cause’, and refūtāre ‘rebut’ (source of English refute [16]), a compound verb based on the element *fūt-, found also in English confute [16].But another long-established school of thought derives it from refūsus, the past participle of Latin refundere ‘pour back’ (source of English refund [14]) – the underlying notion being of something ‘poured back’ or ‘rejected’. The noun refuse ‘rubbish’ [15] probably comes from Old French refus ‘refusal’, a derivative of refuser ‘refuse’.
- refuse (v.)
- c. 1300, from Old French refuser "reject, disregard, avoid" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *refusare, frequentative form from past participle stem of Latin refundere "pour back, give back" (see refund (v.)). Related: Refused; refusing.
- refuse (n.)
- mid-14c., "an outcast;" mid-14c., "a rejected thing, waste material, trash," from Old French refus "waste product, rubbish; refusal, denial, rejection," a back-formation from the past participle of refuser (see refuse (v.)). As an adjective from late 14c., "despised, rejected;" early 15c., "of low quality."
Example
- 1. As americans , we refuse to live in fear .
- 2. The vast majority of personal refuse is food-related .
- 3. Baidu has denied blocking websites that refuse to take part in the bidding .
- 4. It is not that companies refuse to recruit or promote women .
- 5. And I refuse to let that happen .