as in refused
to show unwillingness to accept, do, engage in, or agree to
I'm afraid that I will have to turn down your invitation
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Recent Examples of turned down
Most of those variance requests were turned down, including Struve and Unger’s.
—
Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 23 Sep. 2025
Exxon made the big oil discovery in the Stabroek Block in 2015 after Chevron and many other oil producers turned down the opportunity to invest in exploration, and emerged as the operator and 45% owner of the development.
—Jordan Blum, Fortune, 22 Sep. 2025
That had been turned down by 14 publishers and he was offered only a £3,000 advance for the manuscript.
—Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2025
And in March the justices turned down a request by Republican attorneys general to stop climate lawsuits filed by states including California, Connecticut, Minnesota and Rhode Island.
—Michael Copley, NPR, 19 Sep. 2025
Several companies eyed the growing dating app in its early years, as Herd turned down a $450 million buyout offer from the Match Group in 2017.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 19 Sep. 2025
The Observer noted that Austin previously turned down an appearance at the end of the main event of WrestleMania 40, where his role would have been help take out The Rock before Cody Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns in the main event.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
On the flip side, shock and outrage was expressed in some quarters when Mbeumo turned down Champions League football at Newcastle in order to join a Manchester United team in transition under Amorim.
—Oliver Kay, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
After Victorious ended production in 2012, Thomas turned down the chance to attend Morehouse College, opting instead to hone his songwriting under Babyface’s mentorship.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 4 Sep. 2025
Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 23 Sep. 2025
Exxon made the big oil discovery in the Stabroek Block in 2015 after Chevron and many other oil producers turned down the opportunity to invest in exploration, and emerged as the operator and 45% owner of the development.
—Jordan Blum, Fortune, 22 Sep. 2025
That had been turned down by 14 publishers and he was offered only a £3,000 advance for the manuscript.
—Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2025
And in March the justices turned down a request by Republican attorneys general to stop climate lawsuits filed by states including California, Connecticut, Minnesota and Rhode Island.
—Michael Copley, NPR, 19 Sep. 2025
Several companies eyed the growing dating app in its early years, as Herd turned down a $450 million buyout offer from the Match Group in 2017.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 19 Sep. 2025
The Observer noted that Austin previously turned down an appearance at the end of the main event of WrestleMania 40, where his role would have been help take out The Rock before Cody Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns in the main event.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
On the flip side, shock and outrage was expressed in some quarters when Mbeumo turned down Champions League football at Newcastle in order to join a Manchester United team in transition under Amorim.
—Oliver Kay, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
After Victorious ended production in 2012, Thomas turned down the chance to attend Morehouse College, opting instead to hone his songwriting under Babyface’s mentorship.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 4 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for turned down
Verb
-
Russian President Vladmir Putin has so far refused to engage in a good faith effort to end the war after almost four years of fighting.—
Mariam Khan,
ABC News,
22 Sep. 2025
-
Allegedly, the project was stalled when Germany refused to supply engines (because of the EU arms embargo on China imposed after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing).—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The movie was roundly rejected by critics and general audiences aren’t any warmer, with moviegoer survey firm Cinema Score polling a bad C- grade among early viewers.—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
20 Sep. 2025
-
On September 18, the House narrowly rejected the resolution to censure Omar over her remarks and social media posts following the assassination of Kirk.—
Anna Commander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Bobbitt declined to comment Friday on the water issue, saying his firm preferred to let the joint authority handle any permit discussions.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
20 Sep. 2025
-
His attorney declined to comment on the allegations.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
20 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Over one in ten report being passed up for a promotion or chance to get ahead because of their age.—
Helen Dennis,
Oc Register,
14 Sep. 2025
-
Silksong just passed up yesterday’s 562,000 concurrent Steam playercount record, a stunning number for a $20 indie game, though obviously boosted by its mythological status after seven years of waiting from fans.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Turned down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turned%20down. Accessed 26 Sep. 2025.
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