Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of refuse

15 similar words

Another word for refuse is reject. Other synonyms of refuse are decline and forbear.

Synonyms and similar words for refuse

nounCollectively, items or material that have been discarded; rubbish, garbage.

  • discards
  • garbage USUseless or disposable material; waste material of any kind.
  • rubbish UKRefuse, waste, garbage, junk, trash.
  • trash USUseless physical things to be discarded; rubbish; refuse.

verbTo decline (a request or demand).

  • declineTo choose not to do something; refuse, forbear, refrain.
  • rejectTo refuse to accept; to forswear.
  • nillTo reject, refuse, negate.
  • say no to
  • turn downTo refuse, decline, or deny.
  • veto
  • withsakeTo forsake; abandon; renounce; deny; refuse.
  • withsayTo forbid, to refuse to allow, give, or permit.
  • negative formalTo refuse; to veto.
  • say no
  • forbearTo refuse; to decline; to withsay; to unheed.

Meaning of refuse

  1. adjective Discarded, rejected.
  2. noun Collectively, items or material that have been discarded; rubbish, garbage.
  3. verb To decline (a request or demand).

Full definition of refuse

refuse in other languages

Questions about synonyms of refuse

What is another word for refuse?
Refuse has 15 synonyms on Word.ws, such as reject, decline and forbear.
What does refuse mean?
Refuse means discarded, rejected.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: refuse (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of refuse.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/refuse. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.