re‧fuse 1 S2 W1 / rɪfjuz / 动词

1 [不及物动词] to say firmly that you will not do something that someone has asked you to do :

She asked him to leave, but he refused.

refuse to do something

I absolutely refuse to take part in anything illegal.

flatly refuse/refuse point-blank (to do something) (= refuse immediately and directly without giving a reason )

Mom flatly refused to go back into the hospital.

When he offered all that money, I could hardly refuse (= could not refuse ) , could I?

2 [不及物和及物动词] to say no to something that you have been offered 同义词 turn down :

She refused a second piece of cake.

The offer seemed too good to refuse .

3 [及物动词] to not give or allow someone something that they want, especially when they have asked for it officially

refuse somebody something

She was refused a work permit.

COLLOCATIONS

副词

stubbornly refuse He stubbornly refused to pay the fine.

adamantly refuse formal (= in a determined way ) They are still adamantly refusing to release the data to the general public.

steadfastly refuse (= refuse, and continue to refuse ) She steadfastly refused to marry him.

consistently refuse Politicians have consistently refused to listen to us.

flatly refuse (= in a firm and definite way ) He flatly refused to tell me anything.

simply refuse (= used for emphasis ) Some children simply refuse to do what they’re told.

refuse point-blank (= directly and without explanation ) I refused point-blank to let him in.

短语

somebody can hardly refuse (= it would be unreasonable or very difficult to refuse ) Going out was the last thing I wanted to do, but I could hardly refuse.

THESAURUS

refuse to say firmly that you will not do something that someone has asked you to do : I asked the bank for a loan, but they refused. | When they refused to leave, we had to call the police.

say no spoken to say that you will not do something when someone asks you : They asked me so nicely that I couldn’t really say no.

turn somebody/something down to refuse to accept an offer or invitation, or a formal request : They offered me the job but I turned it down. | The board turned down a request for $25,000 to sponsor an art exhibition. | I’ve already been turned down by three colleges.

reject to refuse to accept an idea, offer, suggestion, or plan : They rejected the idea because it would cost too much money. | The Senate rejected a proposal to limit the program to two years.

decline formal to politely refuse to accept an offer or invitation, or refuse to do something : She has declined all offers of help. | A palace spokesman declined to comment on the rumours.

deny to refuse to allow someone to do something or enter somewhere : They were denied permission to publish the book. | He was denied access to the US.

veto to officially refuse to allow a law or plan, or to refuse to accept someone’s suggestion : Congress vetoed the bill. | The suggestion was quickly vetoed by the other members of the team.

disallow to officially refuse to accept something because someone has broken the rules, or not done it in the correct way : The goal was disallowed by the referee. | The court decided to disallow his evidence.

rebuff formal to refuse to accept someone’s offer, request, or suggestion : The company raised its offer to $6 billion, but was rebuffed. | He was politely rebuffed when he suggested holding the show in Dublin.

give somebody/something the thumbs down informal to refuse to allow or accept a plan or suggestion : The plan was given the thumbs down by the local authority. | They gave us the thumbs down.