Occurring frequently in news articles and headlines, rebuff derives (via Middle French rebuffer) from Old Italian ribuffare, meaning "to reprimand," and ultimately from the imitative verb buffare, meaning "to puff." (You might guess that the verb buff, meaning "to polish," is a buffare descendant, but it is actually unrelated. It is derived from Middle French buffle, meaning "wild ox.") A similar word, rebuke, shares the "criticize" sense of rebuff, but not the "reject" sense (one can rebuke another's actions or policies, but one does not rebuke the advances of another, for example). Like rebuke, rebuff can also be used as a noun, as in "His proposal was met with a stern rebuff from the Board of Trustees."
Example Sentences
Our suggestion was immediately rebuffed. The company rebuffed the bid. She rebuffed him when he asked her for a date.
Recent Examples on the WebThe Ukrainians brought tanks and more experienced fighters into the village to rebuff the onslaught. Isabelle Khurshudyan, Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2022 Earlier this month, Bloomberg News reported that the U.S. Department of Justice was poised to rebuff Google’s offer of splitting off its ads business in a new company under the Alphabet umbrella.Fortune, 27 July 2022 Less than two weeks after a video of a character appearing to rebuff two Black children at Sesame Place went viral, at least one family has sued the Philadelphia theme park. Laura Blasey, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2022 Initially, the smaller Ukrainian military was able to rebuff Russian advances and inflict heavy casualties. Seth G. Jones And Philip G. Wasielewski, WSJ, 20 July 2022 Bennett argues that giving North Korea's authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un the opportunity to rebuff an invitation from the U.S. plays into his hand. Shannon K. Crawford, ABC News, 10 June 2022 That lesson helped steel her resolve to rebuff pressure to go along just to get along. Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic, 13 July 2022 The campaign does not advertise her events and in cases where reporters learn of them, staffers rebuff attempts to ask her questions by hustling her to an awaiting vehicle. Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 17 June 2022 The advanced talks mark a dramatic turnaround from earlier this month, when Twitter was expected to rebuff Mr. Musk’s offer. Caitlin Mccabe, WSJ, 25 Apr. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle French rebuffer, from Old Italian ribuffare to reprimand, from ribuffo reprimand