rebuff
/ɹɪˈbʌf/ noun, verb
Forms rebuffs rebuffing rebuffed
- noun A sudden resistance or refusal. “He was surprised by her quick rebuff to his proposal.”
- noun Repercussion, or beating back.
- verb (transitive) To refuse; to offer sudden or harsh resistance; to turn down or shut out.
- verb (transitive) To buff again.
Synonyms
Etymology
From obsolete French rebuffer, from Middle French rebuffer (compare French rebiffer (“to rise up, revolt”)), from Italian ribuffare.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Repercussion, or beating back; a quick and sudden resistance.
- noun Sudden check; unexpected repulse; defeat; refusal; repellence; rejection of solicitation.
- verb To beat back; to offer sudden resistance to; to check; to repel or repulse violently, harshly, or uncourteously.
Etymology [It. ribuffo, akin to ribuffare to repulse; pref. ri- (L. re-) + buffo puff. Cf. Buff to strike, Buffet a blow.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “rebuff”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details