Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A blunt or abrupt repulse or refusal, as to an offer.
- n. A check or an abrupt setback to progress or action.
- v. To reject bluntly, often disdainfully; snub. See Synonyms at refuse1.
- v. To repel or drive back.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To repel; make inflexible resistance to; check; put off with an abrupt and unexpected denial.
- Synonyms To repel, repulse, throw back. See refuse.
- n. A repelling; a repercussion.
- n. An interposed check; a defeat.
- n. A holding off or in check; repulsion, as of inquiry or solicitation; peremptory denial or refusal.
Wiktionary
- n. A sudden resistance or refusal.
- v. To refuse; to offer sudden or harsh resistance; to turn down or shut out.
- v. To buff again.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Repercussion, or beating back; a quick and sudden resistance.
- n. Sudden check; unexpected repulse; defeat; refusal; repellence; rejection of solicitation.
- v. To beat back; to offer sudden resistance to; to check; to repel or repulse violently, harshly, or uncourteously.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an instance of driving away or warding off
- v. reject outright and bluntly
- v. force or drive back
- n. a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval)
Etymologies
- From obsolete French rebuffer, to reject, from Italian ribuffare, from ribuffo, reprimand : ri-, back (from Latin re-; see re-) + buffo, gust, puff (of imitative origin). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“At The National Post Blog Araminta Wordsworth quoted various sources and the reactions including The Nation Daily in Kenya which suggests that this rebuff is not unexpected:”
Global Voices in English » Ghana: Global discussion of Obama’s visit to Ghana
“But November -- the chill month with its "rebuff" -- will see both rabbits and magpies quite departed ....”
“Such a rebuff was a stunner to Mr. Davis, who, however, soon regained his serenity and answered:”
Harrison, Mrs. Burton, 1843-1920. Recollections Grave and Gay
“Such a rebuff was a stunner to the recipient of it, who soon regained his own serenity, however, and answered:”
“But last night in Birmingham the opposition leader suffered what could only be described as a rebuff when conference delegates voted her the greatest Tory hero of all time.”
Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk
“KING: Isn't there also a kind of rebuff against it, people who don't like the pontifical nature of it, the fact that you shall believe?”
“But she suddenly met a rebuff -- a kind of rebuff that she did not expect; for”
“Adeline was fabricating fearfully, that the "rebuff" was altogether an invention.”
“It is historically unprecedented for a first-term government to receive the kind of rebuff that the Rudd-Gillard government received yesterday," he told reporters in Sydney.”
“It is historically unprecedented for a first-term government to receive the kind of rebuff that the Rudd-Gillard government received yesterday," he said.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘rebuff’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Muse's tacet ,to learn
Music brings silence's to raging thoughts and temperament , calm, as it is our object of definite purpose.
tacet, cadence, tempo, treble clef, penultimate, lexicon, origin, orchestra, kantele, magus, eros, coalesce and 248 more...
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Familiar
Just a list of words
fulminate, unctuous, malediction, lumpenproletariat, descry, surfeit, sententious, supernumerary, unabashed, picayune, obliterate, decry and 109 more...
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Of Imitative Origin
Words formed in imitation of the sound of the things they signify.
bawl, biff, blizzard, blob, blooper, bob, boff, bomb, bonkers, boo, borborygmus, brouhaha and 148 more...
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AFET - diplomacy
broker a peace ac..., client state, deadlocked peace ..., embassy, freeze, goodwill ambassador, hinterland, interfere in dome..., intervene personally, maintain technica..., mediation, no business as usual and 670 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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2nd part
prelude, ample, escalate, prototype, accession, acquisition, archives, zealot, indict, verdict, intimidating, timid and 454 more...
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Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2046 more...
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Philosophic , etymology
every major discipline has uniquely developed esoteric nomenclature to facilitate interdisciplinary dissemination
quale , qualia, elegy, tacet, lexicon, annunciate, caste, eros, contrive, purlicue, irony, venacular, dilapidate and 567 more...
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VOCUBLARY
purge, wield, remedy, shepherd, numen, bizarre, enamor, bigotry, tumult, commotion, agitate, rebuff and 8 more...
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Verbages
puddle, kowtow, tessellate, defalcate, embezzle, enkindle, ablate, frivol, moonlight, tongue-tie, gobble, pettifog and 58 more...
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Sarah's words
adept, pedagogic, pedagogy, discerning, genuine, articulate, collaboration, enterprise, sterile, asunder, prudent, imprudent and 19 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6689 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1824 more...
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Words
teeter, headlong, reprobate, canard, ersatz, prevaricate, trenchant, minatory, fatuous, stultify, vitiate, fulminate and 135 more...
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Clarissa, Or, The History of a Young ...
These words are from Samuel Richardson's novel Clarissa, Or, The History of a Young Lady, 1747-48
adumbrate, virago, varlet, rencounter, akimbo, palliate, amanuensis, amok, equipage, cully, se'ennight, resentments and 560 more...
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