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rebuff - 5 dictionary results

re⋅buff

  [n. ri-buhf, ree-buhf; v. ri-buhf]
Use rebuff in a Sentence
–noun
1. a blunt or abrupt rejection, as of a person making advances.
2. a peremptory refusal of a request, offer, etc.; snub.
3. a check to action or progress.
–verb (used with object)
4. to give a rebuff to; check; repel; refuse; drive away.
Origin:
1580–90; < MF rebuffer < It ribuffare to disturb, reprimand, deriv. of ribuffo (n.), equiv. to ri- re- + buffo puff; see buffoon

Related forms:
re⋅buff⋅a⋅ble, adjective
re⋅buff⋅a⋅bly, adverb

Synonyms:
4. snub, slight, reject, spurn.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To rebuff
re·buff   (rĭ-bŭf')   
n.  
  1. A blunt or abrupt repulse or refusal, as to an offer.
  2. A check or an abrupt setback to progress or action.
tr.v.   re·buffed, re·buff·ing, re·buffs
  1. To reject bluntly, often disdainfully; snub. See Synonyms at refuse1.
  2. To repel or drive back.

[From obsolete French rebuffer, to reject, from Italian ribuffare, from ribuffo, reprimand : ri-, back (from Latin re-; see re-) + buffo, gust, puff (of imitative origin).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Rebuff

Re*buff"\, n. [It. ribuffo, akin to ribuffare to repulse; pref. ri- (L. re-) + buffo puff. Cf. Buff to strike, Buffet a blow.]

1. Repercussion, or beating back; a quick and sudden resistance.

The strong rebuff of some tumultuous cloud. --Milton.

2. Sudden check; unexpected repulse; defeat; refusal; repellence; rejection of solicitation.

Rebuff

Re*buff"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rebuffed; p. pr. & vb. n. Rebuffing.] To beat back; to offer sudden resistance to; to check; to repel or repulse violently, harshly, or uncourteously.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : rebuff
Spanish: repulsa, desaire,
German: schroffe Abweisung,
Japanese: 拒絶
More Translations »

rebuff  (v.)
1586, from obs. Fr. rebuffer "to check, snub," from It. ribuffare "to check, chide, snide," from ribuffo "a snub," from ri- "back" (from L. re-) + buffo "a puff," of imitative origin (cf. buffet (v.)). The noun is first recorded 1611.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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