Word Lab
refuse · reject
Usage — not pronunciation
The rule
Refuse is about YOUR OWN unwillingness to do or accept something — it can be followed directly by 'to + verb'. Reject means to formally turn down or dismiss something after judging it — an application, proposal, idea, or faulty item — and it can never be followed by 'to + verb'.
Quick tip
If a 'to + verb' follows, it must be refuse — reject is never followed directly by an infinitive.
Correct
✓ “He refused to answer any questions.”
✓ “She refused his offer of help.”
✓ “The bank rejected his loan application.”
✓ “They rejected the idea outright.”
Common mistake
✗ “He rejected to answer any questions.”
✗ “The manager rejected to sign the form.”
When to use each word
refuse
- · + to-infinitive: 'he refused to leave', 'she refused to sign'
- · Declining something offered to you: 'refuse a drink', 'refuse help'
- · Personal unwillingness, not an institution's judgment
reject
- · Applications, proposals, ideas: 'reject a job application', 'reject a proposal'
- · Faulty or substandard items: 'reject damaged parts on the production line'
- · Never followed directly by to + verb
Full breakdown
Both words can take a plain noun object (refuse an offer / reject an offer), and there they overlap in meaning. The clearest difference shows up in what's being declined: refuse leans personal — your own unwillingness to do something or accept something offered to you. Reject leans institutional or evaluative — an authority, committee, or process judges something and formally turns it down (a job application, a manuscript, a proposal, a defective part). A useful test: if you can naturally add 'to + verb' after it, you almost certainly mean refuse.
How teachers explain this
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