rebuff

Noun

rebuff (plural rebuffs)

1. A sudden resistance or refusal.
   • He was surprised by her quick rebuff to his proposal.
   • And it is symptomatic of the many paradoxes of Lederer's life that of all the people in the room, Brotherhood is the one whom he would most wish to serve, if ever he had the opportunity, even though — or perhaps because — his occasional efforts to ingratiate himself with his adopted hero have met...1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy
2. Repercussion, or beating back.
   • the strong rebuff of some tumultuous cloud1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...

Verb (1)

rebuff (third-person singular simple present rebuffs, present participle rebuffing, simple past and past participle rebuffed)

1. (transitive) To refuse; to offer sudden or harsh resistance; to turn down or shut out.
   • The plaque (2014) doesn't tell you that Leonard [Woolf] had initially been rebuffed. His intended proposal was refused by Virginia [Woolf to be], who then had a change of heart.2021 September 22, Stephen Roberts, “The writings on the wall...”, in RAIL, number 940, page 71
   • Lawyers for CBS News are rebuffing a legal threat from Donald Trump over the network’s “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris, telling the former president his demands are based on a “faulty premise.”2024 October 23, Brian Stelter, “CBS News rebuffs Trump’s legal threat over ‘60 Minutes’ interview”, in CNN, archived from the original on 23 Jul 2025

Verb (2)

IPA/ɹiːˈbʌf/

rebuff (third-person singular simple present rebuffs, present participle rebuffing, simple past and past participle rebuffed)

1. (transitive) To buff again.