rebuff · noun — A sudden resistance or refusal. It carries an Arena rating of 1405, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, rebuff ranks #1,080 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,339 of 17,128 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,951 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #3,041 of 17,136 for Most Malleable Words.
rebuff is pronounced /ɹɪˈbʌf/.
Why “rebuff” is a great word
A blunt or abrupt rejection of an offer, request, or advance. From obsolete French rebuffer, from Middle French rebuffer, from Italian ribuffare, from ribuffo (a puff, snub), combining ri- (expressing opposition) and buffo ("a puff, gust"). Unlike "reject," a general refusal, or "rebuke," a corrective scolding, a rebuff carries the particular sting of disdainful dismissal. It is the turned shoulder in a crowded room, the email reply of a single perfunctory line, the silence that hangs after a tentative confession—social frostbite delivered with such economy that the wound outlasts the moment.
❧ Written by Lexicurio’s AI
Etymology
From obsolete French rebuffer, from Middle French rebuffer (compare French rebiffer (“to rise up, revolt”)), from Italian ribuffare.
noun
- A sudden resistance or refusal.e.g.“He was surprised by her quick rebuff to his proposal.”
- Repercussion, or beating back.e.g.“the strong rebuff of some tumultuous cloud” — 1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished a
verb
- To refuse; to offer sudden or harsh resistance; to turn down or shut out.e.g.“The plaque (2014) doesn't tell you that Leonard [Woolf] had initially been rebuffed. His intended proposal was refused by Virginia [Woolf to be], who then had a change of heart.” — 2021 September 22, Stephen Roberts, “The writings on the wall...”, in RAIL, number 940, page 71:
- To buff again.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
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