REFUSAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does refusal mean? 

• REFUSAL (noun)
  The noun REFUSAL has 2 senses:

1. the act of refusing

2. a message refusing to accept something that is offered

  Familiarity information: REFUSAL used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• REFUSAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of refusing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("refusal" is a kind of...):

denial (the act of refusing to comply (as with a request))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "refusal"):

repudiation (refusal to acknowledge or pay a debt or honor a contract (especially by public authorities))

prohibition (refusal to approve or assent to)

Derivation:

refuse (refuse to let have)

refuse (refuse entrance or membership)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A message refusing to accept something that is offered

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("refusal" is a kind of...):

content; message; subject matter; substance (what a communication that is about something is about)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "refusal"):

declination; regrets (a polite refusal of an invitation)

Derivation:

refuse (refuse to accept)

 Context examples 

He took my refusal very seriously, but also very gently.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"Once more, why this refusal?" he asked.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The surprise of your refusal, Fanny, seems to have been unbounded.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

"I had five dogs," he said, casting about for the easiest way to temper his refusal.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

I desire it much; nay, I will take no refusal.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

I tried to word my refusal, but wavered.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Mrs. Jennings received the refusal with some surprise, and repeated her invitation immediately.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Nothing should tempt her to go, if they did; and she regretted that her father's known habits would be giving her refusal less meaning than she could wish.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

You must give me leave to flatter myself, my dear cousin, that your refusal of my addresses is merely words of course.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

A conscious or unconscious refusal to encounter situations, activities, or objects; the act or practice of keeping away from or withdrawing from something.

(Avoidance, NCI Thesaurus)