Refuse and Take

Refuse

Refuse verb - To show unwillingness to accept, do, engage in, or agree to.
Usage example: she refused the award, citing the hard work of others who deserved the recognition more than she did

Take is an antonym for refuse in want topic.

Nearby Words: refused, refusal, refusing, refuser

Take

Take verb - To agree to receive whether willingly or reluctantly.
Usage example: took a cut in pay

Refuse is an antonym for take in topics: require, consume, contract, carry, accept.

Nearby Words: taking, taken, taker

How words are described

real real refuse real take
little little refuse little take
bad bad refuse bad take
final final refuse final take
Other adjectives: nuanced.

Common collocations

life refuse life take life
people refuse people take people
chance refuse chance take chance
hand refuse hand take hand
Other words: opportunity, time, way, command, money, throne, side, drink, option, orders.

Both words in one sentence

  • Superman Stays out of Gotham: This trope is deliberately invoked by the Titans, who absolutely refuse to ever call the Justice League for help, as they figure doing so would mean they can't take care of themselves and need the big time heroes to take care of them.
  • Some popular streaming/downloading sites like iTunes and Netflix still routinely refuse to take most non-dubbed anime.
  • Video Game / We Happy Few The delusional people of this godforsaken world do not take kindly to those who refuse to take their happy pills.
Cite this Source
Take and Refuse. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/refuse/take
Refuse & Take. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/refuse/take>.
Take or Refuse. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/refuse/take.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "refuse" and "take" have occurred on timeline