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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