Word of the Day: Refuse
refuse
re-fuse / rĭ-fyo͞oz
verb
1. to decline to accept or allow
If wisdom were offered me with this restriction, that I should keep it close and not communicate it, I would refuse the gift.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, c. 4 BC – 65 AD
2. to deny, to fail to give something
We are rich only through what we give, and poor only through what we refuse.
Anne Sophie Swetchine, 1782 – 1857
3. (archaic) to make a formal declaration refusing to recognize or obey or to give up; to renounce
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.
From “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, 1564 – 1616
refuse
ref-use / rĕf-yo͞os
noun
1. a general term for solid waste materials, also called garbage or trash
The allegedly powerful Pentagon is simply a receptacle for wasteful expenditure, just as a city dump is the receptacle for the refuse of a city.
Walter Karp. 1934 – 1989
