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Definition of rebuff


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re·buff  audio  (r-bf) KEY  

NOUN:
  1. A blunt or abrupt repulse or refusal, as to an offer.
  2. A check or an abrupt setback to progress or action.
TRANSITIVE VERB:
re·buffed , re·buff·ing , re·buffs
  1. To reject bluntly, often disdainfully; snub. See Synonyms at refuse 1.
  2. To repel or drive back.

ETYMOLOGY:
From obsolete French rebuffer, to reject, from Italian ribuffare, from ribuffo, reprimand : ri-, back (from Latin re-; see re- ) + buffo, gust, puff ( of imitative origin)


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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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