Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
rebuff, refuse, reject, repel, repulse (vv.)
At least one and sometimes more than one of these words can serve to define each of the others, and all are at least partial synonyms. To rebuff is “to check or reject,” “to refuse bluntly,” “to snub,” as in She rebuffed his familiarity with a haughty stare; to repulse is “to reject rudely,” “to drive back,” as in She repulsed him with a sharp comment; to repel is “to turn away or turn back,” “to decline (a proposal),” or “to disgust and so drive away,” as in His proposal of marriage repelled her, so she repelled it; to reject is “to say no to or spurn,” “to turn back,” as in When he proposed, she rejected him out of hand; and to refuse is “to decline, to say no, not to accept,” as in He refused to accept her answer as final. See RE-.
