refuser

\ʁə.fy.ze\

/\ʁə.fy.ze\/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“refuser” has 10 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #3,562. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,562
frequency rank, French
5,742
“R” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Rejeter une demande, ne pas accorder ce qui est demandé ; ne pas vouloir faire ce qui est exigé, prescrit, ordonné.

Corpus desk

Index FR-refuser · refuser · French

refuser · rank #3,562 · 10 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,562
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,742
  • PHOTO-FINISH prévue

Nearest frequency peer: prévue (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “refuser”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “refuser” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

refuser vs remuer
71% similar
refuser vs reposer
71% similar
refuser vs résumer
57% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for refuser
PropertyValue
Headwordrefuser
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ʁə.fy.ze\
Letters7
Frequency rank#3,562
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Où “refuser” se place dans la fréquence du français

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.refuserse place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « prévue » (#3,561), « remplacement » (#3,563), « provenant » (#3,560). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around refuser (IPA \ʁə.fy.ze\), averb. Corpus frequency is #3,562 among 5,742 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for refuser, with forms such as "erfuser", "reffuser", and "refsuer". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "remuer", "reposer", "résumer", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is refuser, spelled R-E-F-U-S-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Rejeter une demande, ne pas accorder ce qui est demandé ; ne pas vouloir faire ce qui est exigé, prescrit, ordonné.
  2. 2
    Rejeter la fréquentation
  3. 3
    Rejeter une offre ; ne pas accepter ce qui est offert.
  4. 4
    Refuser quelqu'un : ne pas accepter ce qu'il demande.
  5. 5
    Ne pas admettre.
  6. 6
    Ne pas donner ; ne pas accorder.
  7. 7
    Éviter d’engager, ne pas avancer.
  8. 8
    Devenir contraire, en parlant du vent.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how refuser appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Parfois les rênes s’échappent de nos doigts engourdis, et nos montures aveuglées, tournant le dos à la tempête, refusent d’avancer. Nous les laissons souffler un instant, puis reprenons notre course muette et aveugle.
  2. Le bruit court que c’est dimanche. Ce n’est pas le curé qui le confirmera. Il a refusé de dire la grand’messe et a célébré l’office dans sa chambre, tout seul.

Synonyms

rejeter

Antonyms

accorder

This word in other languages

refuse(English)rechazar(Español)ablehnen(Deutsch)recusar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • erfuser
  • reffuser
  • refsuer
  • refuesr
  • refuserr
  • refusre
  • refusser
  • reufser
  • rfeuser
  • rrefuser

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of refuser - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

erfuser2reffuser1refsuer2refuesr2refuserr1refusre2refusser1reufser2
Edit distance from "refuser"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "refuser"?
"refuser" is spelled R-E-F-U-S-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \ʁə.fy.ze\.
What does "refuser" mean?
As a verb, "refuser" means: Rejeter une demande, ne pas accorder ce qui est demandé ; ne pas vouloir faire ce qui est exigé, prescrit, ordonné.
What words are commonly confused with "refuser"?
"refuser" is commonly confused with "remuer", "reposer", "résumer". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "refuser"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "refuser" is \ʁə.fy.ze\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "refuser" come from?
"refuser" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "refuser", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

retenir#3,565oubliez#3,554obtient#3,553Tunisie#3,577

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

terrains10 variantsfrancs10 variantsassociés10 variantsfaisons10 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "refuser". Here's where to go from here.

  • "refuser" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "remuer". View pair
  • 10 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #3,562 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "R" letter cohort. R–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list