Refusals

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Actions involving the decision to say no to offers or requests
2. Decisions or actions where an offer, suggestion, or request is turned down
3. Instances of saying no to proposals or invitations

Etymology: "Refusals" is simply the plural of "refusal," so its history is that of the noun itself. "Refusal" comes from Middle English "refusell," formed by adding the suffix "-al" to "refuse." The "-al" ending, which turns a verb into a noun naming the act or result of that action, is the same one found in words like "denial" and "arrival," so the noun reads as the act of refusing rather than any single object. The verb "refuse" reached English from Old French "refuser," which derives from the Latin "refusare," meaning to pour back or to reject. Its sense of declining an offer or request developed within that lineage, and the plural form "refusals" simply counts each separate instance of such declining.

Synonyms: denials, rejections, declines