The words ‘refuse’ and ‘deny’ are often confusing, so learners often have problem to distinguish them.
Refuse (verb). Meaning: to not do something.
- Example:
- The child refused to take the medicine.
- She’s a vegetarian and refuses to eat any meat and fish.
Refuse (verb). Meaning: to not accept something.
- Example:
- I offered him a snack but he politely refused
- They invited me to party but I refused
Deny (verb). Meaning: to say something is not true.
- Example:
- Emma Stone has consistently denied the dating rumours.
- There is a group of people who denies climate change.
Deny (verb). Meaning: to not admit our knowledge, responsibility, feelings, etc.
- Example:
- She denied that she had acted irresponsibly.
- He has denied his family.
In bahasa Indonesia, ‘refuse’ means ‘menolak’ while ‘deny’ means ‘menyangkal.’
Compiled and written by @anhtiss at @EnglishTips4U on Wednesday, April 5, 2017
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