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Fireflysaigon Posted 16 years ago
Vocabulary

Deny - reject - refuse - dismiss

Could anyone help me with this question?
I offered to help her on her next wedding day but she ____________it.
A. Denied B. rejected C. refused D. dismissed
I opted "B. rejected" because I understood that "she didn't accept the offer I made". However, I wonder if "C. refused" is also the right choice here. Who can give me a clear explanation of "deny, reject, refuse and dismiss" because I have looked up the dictionary (Encarta dictionary) and I have found that all of four words have the same meaning of "refuse to accept..."
Thanks for enlightening me.
  

Top answer

None of them sound correct to me: the word "it" does not have a proper referent in the sentence. Also, " next wedding day" is weird -- as if she gets married regularly, like every month or something. " If the sentence were arranged differently you could say "she rejected/declined/refused my offer".

— Mr Wordy

  • None of them sound correct to me: the word "it" does not have a proper referent in the sentence.
  • Also, " next wedding day" is weird -- as if she gets married regularly, like every month or something.
  • " If the sentence were arranged differently you could say "she rejected/declined/refused my offer".
  • "declined" sounds more polite; "refused" sounds more pointed.
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4 Answers
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None of them sound correct to me: the word "it" does not have a proper referent in the sentence. Also, "next wedding day" is weird -- as if she gets married regularly, like every month or something.

You can say "I offered to help her on her wedding day but she declined."

If the sentence were arranged differently you could say "she rejected/declined/refused my offer". "dec
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Hi, Mr. Wordy!
Nice to hear from you again. Could you explain to me the difference between "reject", "refuse" and "dismiss".Thanks
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fireflysaigonNice to hear from you again. Could you explain to me the difference between "reject", "refuse" and "dismiss".
Questions like this are always tough to answer because there are so many collocations to consider and distill. One easy distinction is that only "refuse" can be followed by "to + verb", as in "He refused to help". Otherwise, "refuse" seems
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Legally there is a huge difference between 'reject' and 'dismiss'

HL
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