rebuff
verb
[ rɪˈbʌf ]
• reject (someone or something) in an abrupt or ungracious manner.
• "I asked her to be my wife, and was rebuffed in no uncertain terms"
Similar:
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,
give someone the brush-off,
tell someone where to get off,
put down,
freeze out,
stiff-arm,
knock back,
give someone the bum's rush,
give someone the brush,
snout,
give someone the go-by,
rebuff
noun
• an abrupt or ungracious rejection of an offer, request, or friendly gesture.
• "his reserve was not intended as a rebuff"
Similar:
rejection,
snub,
slight,
repulse,
cut,
refusal,
spurning,
repudiation,
repulsion,
cold-shouldering,
discouragement,
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.
