Refuse
Refuse verb - To be unwilling to grant.
Spare
Spare verb - To use or give out in stingy amounts.
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
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But he did not refuse one when it was offered and in fact asked for a spare, just in case the first one became inoperable.
Source: The Men First - But in the second case, their few spare bits of food and trade goods are rarely helpful once you're into the game properly, so it's much easier to refuse it.
Source: Keep the Reward -
If there were a general who commands soldiers to kill a certain race they oppose, expect one to spare at least one life or just refuse to kill everyone.
Source: Punished for Sympathy
Cite this Source
Spare and Refuse. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/refuse/spare
Refuse & Spare. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/refuse/spare>.
Spare or Refuse. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/refuse/spare.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "refuse" and "spare" have occurred on timeline