rebuff
/rɪˈbʌf
/verb [with object]
Reject (someone or something) in an abrupt or ungracious manner: I asked her to be my wife, and was rebuffed in no uncertain terms...
- However the department has rebuffed calls to criminalise those who refuse to obey the law.
- Kurdish politicians were defiant, rebuffing the Shi'ite alliance's attempts to blame them for the deadlock.
- The first attempt to storm the parliament was rebuffed by a volley of police tear gas.
Synonyms
reject, turn down, spurn, refuse, decline, repudiate, disdain;
snub, slight, repulse, repel, dismiss, brush off, turn one's back on;
give someone the cold shoulder, cold-shoulder, ignore, cut (dead), look right through
informal give someone the brush-off, tell someone where to get off, put down, freeze out, stiff-arm
British informal knock back
North American informal give someone the bum's rush, give someone the brush
Australian informal snout
informal, dated give someone the go-by
noun
An abrupt or ungracious rejection of an offer, request, or friendly gesture: his reserve was not intended as a rebuff [mass noun]: callers phoning a chatline need have no fear of rebuff...
- In what will be seen as a clear rebuff to the second request, Mr Kenny said that delaying the €176 million project until after Christmas was simply not an option.
- After several rebuffs, Yeda offered to pay for the cost of localization.
- According to Apter, the mother-in-law is genuinely bewildered by her daughter-in-law's rebuffs of friendship.
Synonyms
rejection, snub, slight, repulse, cut;
refusal, spurning, repudiation, repulsion, cold-shouldering, discouragement
informal brush-off, knock-back, put-down, kick in the teeth, slap in the face, smack in the face, smack in the eye
Origin
Late 16th century: from obsolete French rebuffer (verb), rebuffe (noun), from Italian ri- (expressing opposition) + buffo 'a gust, puff', of imitative origin.