From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrebuffre‧buff /rɪˈbʌf/ noun [countable] formalREJECT/NOT ACCEPT an unkind or unfriendly answer to a friendly suggestion or offer of help SYN snub He received a humiliating rebuff from his manager.► see thesaurus at refuse —rebuff verb [transitive] He rebuffed all her suggestions.
Examples from the Corpus
rebuff• In adulthood, he may over-react to rejection from peers - a rebuff from some one he hoped to date perhaps.• His words amounted to a rebuff.• Merrill felt her face grow warm at this indirect reference to her rebuff of the previous evening.• This, of course, is a recipe for disaster, her attempts to please meeting with a steady stream of rebuffs.• Despite several rebuffs, Farley refused to leave Laura alone.• He had mastered his handicap, but he could not master the rebuffs he suffered, due to his appearance.• Here is a collection of their rebuffs.Origin rebuff (1500-1600) Early French rebuffer, from Old Italian ribuffare “to criticize angrily” 