reject

Compared meaning: to say no to something (verb).

比较义项：拒绝（做某事／接受某事）（动词）。

• refuse

  The most general, everyday word for saying no to doing or accepting something; can sound blunt or forceful, and is the only one that pairs naturally with strong demands or orders.

  语气最直接、最生硬的「拒绝」，可以很强硬，常用于拒绝做某事，或拒绝接受强硬的要求、命令。

  The soldiers refused to obey the order and were arrested on the spot.

  士兵们拒绝服从命令，当场被逮捕。

• decline

  A polite, formal way to refuse, especially invitations, offers or requests; softer in tone than refuse, and unrelated to decline's other everyday meaning of decreasing.

  一种礼貌、正式的「婉拒」方式，尤其用于回绝邀请、提议或请求，语气比 refuse 柔和（与 decline 另一个表示「下降、减少」的意思无关）。

  She politely declined the invitation, explaining she already had plans that evening.

  她礼貌地婉拒了邀请，解释说她那天晚上已经有安排了。

• reject 本词

  To formally refuse to accept something after consideration, typically an application, proposal or idea; takes only a noun object, never an infinitive, and often sounds official or blunt.

  经过考虑后正式地不予接受，通常用于申请、提案等场合，只能接名词宾语（不能说 reject to do something），语气常显得正式或生硬。

  The committee rejected his proposal because it exceeded the approved budget.

  委员会驳回了他的提案，因为超出了批准的预算。

Refuse, decline, and reject all mean to say no. Refuse is the general, everyday word, sometimes blunt. Decline is a polite, formal way to refuse, especially invitations. Reject means to formally turn down something, like an application. It does not cover decline's meaning to decrease.

这三个词都表示「拒绝」，但语气和场合不同：refuse 语气最直接甚至强硬，可用于拒绝做某事或拒绝接受某物；decline 语气委婉客气，常用于礼貌地回绝邀请、提议或请求；reject 强调经过考虑后正式地不予接受，常用于申请、提案等场合，语气较为正式或生硬。这里不比较 decline 表示「下降、减少」的义项（如原例句 Sales began to decline sharply 中的用法）。

Compared meaning: to say no, not accept (verb).

比较义项：拒绝，不同意或不接受（动词）。

• refuse

  General word for declining to do something or accept something; often followed by an infinitive (refuse to do sth) or a direct object; common in everyday, informal contexts.

  泛指拒绝去做某事或拒绝接受某样东西；常后接不定式表示拒绝做某个动作，也可直接接名词作宾语；多用于日常、非正式场合。

  He tried to refuse the extra work, but couldn't.

  他试图拒绝这份额外的工作，但没能成功。

• reject 本词

  More formal; used for turning down a proposal, application, or idea after formal consideration; not followed by an infinitive.

  语气更正式；用于表示经过正式考虑后否决某项提议、申请或想法；不能后接不定式结构。

  The company decided to reject his application for the job.

  公司决定拒绝他的求职申请。

Refuse and reject both mean to say no or not accept something. Refuse is general, used for declining to do or accept something, and can be followed by a to-infinitive. Reject is more formal, meaning to turn down a proposal or application after consideration.

这两个词在“拒绝”这一意义上很接近，但refuse更通用，常指拒绝去做某事或拒绝接受某样东西，可后接不定式；reject语气更正式，多指经过考虑后正式否决提议、申请或想法，且不能后接不定式。