# refusal vs refuse

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### refusal
*noun · IPA /ɹɪˈfjuːzl̩/ · frequency rank #9,243*
The act of refusing.

### refuse
*adjective · IPA /ˈɹɛfjuːs/ · frequency rank #3,718*
Discarded, rejected.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/refusal-vs-refuse