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refusing

ADJECTIVE

negative

Synonyms

STRONGEST

adverse gloomy pessimistic unfavorable weak

STRONG

abrogating annulling anti con contrary contravening denying disallowing disavowing dissenting gainsaying impugning invalidating jaundiced naysaying neutralizing nullifying opposing recusant rejecting removed resisting

WEAK

against antagonistic balky colorless counteractive cynical detrimental dissentient nugatory privative repugnant resistive unaffirmative unenthusiastic uninterested unwilling

Antonyms

STRONGEST

favorable

WEAK

good positive

ADJECTIVE

noncompliant

Synonyms

STRONG

belligerent irregular negative refractory

WEAK

contumacious declinatory declining divergent impatient objecting rebellious recalcitrant restive truculent

Antonyms

WEAK

compliant obedient subservient willing

NOUN

denial

Synonyms

STRONGEST

disapproval rebuttal rejection repudiation retraction veto

STRONG

adjuration brush-off contradiction declination disavowal disclaimer disproof dissent forswearing nay negation negative nix nonacceptance prohibition protestation rebuff refutal refutation renouncement renunciation repulse turndown

WEAK

abstaining cold shoulder controversion disallowance dismissing gainsaying noncommittal refraining rejecting renegement repudiating statement abnegation

Antonyms

STRONGEST

allowance approval confirmation ratification sanction

STRONG

agreement permission

WEAK

affirmation avowal claim corroboration vouching

NOUN

traversal

Synonyms

STRONG

abnegation adjuration brush-off contradiction declination disaffirmation disapproval disavowal disclaimer disproof dissent forswearing nay negation negative nix nonacceptance prohibition protestation rebuff rebuttal refutal refutation rejection renouncement renunciation repudiation repulse retraction statement turndown veto

WEAK

abstaining cold shoulder controversion disaffirmance disallowance dismissing gainsaying noncommittal refraining rejecting renegement repudiating

Antonyms

STRONG

OK acceptance agreement allowance approval confirmation corroboration endorsement permission ratification sanction

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"We transferred something negative into something positive by refusing to see rubble only as a symbol of destruction and loss."

From BBC • May 13, 2026

By refusing to spend cognitive resources on trivial choices Simon saved them for the work that mattered.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026

“Bitter Christmas” contains a couple of sharp notes on the economics of movies today, with Raul refusing a lucrative offer to appear at a film festival in Qatar, saying, “not everything has a price.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026

Dr. Anna Morad, a pediatrician at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, said she had witnessed a gradual rise in families refusing vitamin K leading up to the hospitalizations.

From Salon • May 7, 2026

She didn’t like to think about her failures—the seagull she couldn’t turn into a dragon, Coach Hedge’s baseball bat stubbornly refusing to turn into a hot dog.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

refusing

Example Sentences

Related Words