rebuff

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /rɪˈbʌf/ UK /rɪˈbʌf/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to reject bluntly or snub

She rebuffed his offer of help without a word.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to reject bluntly or snub snub spurn reject rebuke repulse decline

Opposites

welcome accept encourage

Etymology

From obsolete French rebuffer, from Italian ribuffare ('to reprimand'), from ri- (Latin re-) + buffo ('a puff, gust'), of imitative origin.

ribuffare Italian

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# rebuff

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /rɪˈbʌf/
**IPA (UK):** /rɪˈbʌf/

## Meanings
1. to reject bluntly or snub

## Examples
- She rebuffed his offer of help without a word.

## Synonyms
- snub
- spurn
- reject
- rebuke
- repulse
- decline

## Antonyms
- welcome
- accept
- encourage

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ribuffare

## Etymology
From obsolete French rebuffer, from Italian ribuffare ('to reprimand'), from ri- (Latin re-) + buffo ('a puff, gust'), of imitative origin.

## AI Etymology
Rebuff comes from obsolete French rebuffer, from Italian ribuffare ('to reprimand'), from ri- (Latin re-) + buffo ('a puff, gust'), of imitative origin. The historical chain includes Italian ribuffare. The quoted older senses, "to reprimand" and "a puff, gust", supply the semantic anchors for rebuff. The formation is best read as compound and borrowed: the word rebuff carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a verb, "to reject bluntly or snub". The result is a verb and noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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