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Many English verbs begin with the prefix re-, meaning “again” or “backward,” so we wouldn’t criticize you for drawing a connection between rebuff and buff, a verb meaning “to polish or shine.” But rebuff would beg to differ: this word comes to us from the Middle French verb rebuffer, which traces back to the Old Italian ribuffare, meaning “to reprimand.” (Buff, in contrast, comes from the Middle French noun 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 “The proposal was met with a stern rebuff from the Board of Trustees.”
Examples of rebuff in a Sentence
Alexandra Banner, CNN, 12 Dec. 2024
Mondelez made a previous takeover bid for Hershey in 2016, which the company rebuffed.
—Rohan Goswami,amelia Lucas, CNBC, 9 Dec. 2024
Not one to blow smoke, Marchionne sought a partnership with General Motors which CEO Mary Barra repeatedly rebuffed.
—Ed Garsten, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
The feds also have rebuffed previous moves by the defense to smear them with leaking to CNN the 2016 video of Combs kicking the crap out of Ventura.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 22 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rebuff 
Dictionary Entries Near rebuff
Cite this Entry
“Rebuff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rebuff. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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