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Guest Posted 21 years ago
Vocabulary

*Reject, refuse, refute

Could you explain to me the difference between "refuse" ,"reject" and "refute"?
  

Top answer

'Refute' is easy-- it is used mostly of argument, and means the offering of proofs or evidence against a statement or belief. 'Reject' and 'refuse' are not so easily separated, even though the phrase 'reject and refute' repeatedly occurs in religious and quasi-legal Englishes. They are often used interchangeably, and I have an idea that choice in use is often idiomatic.

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2 Answers
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'Refute' is easy-- it is used mostly of argument, and means the offering of proofs or evidence against a statement or belief.

'Reject' and 'refuse' are not so easily separated, even though the phrase 'reject and refute' repeatedly occurs in religious and quasi-legal Englishes. They are often used interchangeably, and I have an idea that choice in use is often idiomatic.

Some co
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refute: disprove (a statement or argument); demonstrate that a statement is false

I say that the word "strawberry" comes from "straw" and "berry", a berry found in straw. Can you refute my claim?

refuse: say "no" to an offer; opposite of "accept" (say "yes")

I offered to help Bill load the wood onto the truck . He refused my offer to help. He re