Turn down

1.'I asked him to lend me some money, but he rejected my request/it. This is what we've been talking about.

2.'She rejected a hot drink. This sounds a little harsh. I'd use "declined" if it was polite and "refuse" could be either polite or brusque, but "reject" usually applies more to an idea than a thing, unless you are at a factory inspecting products for quality.

3.'She rejected a party invitation. The same as above - although decline is the best choice.

4.'She refused/declined/turned down my suggestion/the decision. I think you can refuse a suggestion, but not a decision. That's where you should use "reject." It's like the decision is a faulty product.

I'm sorry I can't think of how to make this more clear. Some words just go better with others.

Hi,

1.'She turned down a hot drink/a party invitation.'
Does this mean she was polite to refuse like 'decline' or firmly said 'no' like 'refuse' or anything else? Why did you say 'decline' would the best choice here? would 'turn down' be the best choice, too? Consider this. We often want to use polite words whan we say 'No' to person A. But when someone else tells person B about what we said, there is less importance attached to the words used in the reported speech. 'She turned it down / she declined / she refused' does not tell us what actual words she used, or even much about the level of politeness that she used.

2. 'He invited me for a drink, but I turned him down.'
Could I use 'turned it down' here? Yes.

3.'I asked him to lend me some money, but he refused my request.'  Here, 'my request' seems a bit redundant.

'I asked him to lend me some money, but he rejected my request.'

Is their any subtle difference between 'rufuse' and 'reject' here?
does 'reject' sound more polite than 'refuse'? Both terms are quite strong. To my ear, 'reject;' sounds a bit stronger. Both of these sentences seem formal. In spoken English, you'd more often hear 'I asked him to lend me some money, but he wouldn't'.

Best wishes, Clive

Hi,

1.If someone says 'No' politely, could we use all these terms like 'refuse' 'decline' 'turn down' and 'reject'?

Of these choices, only 'decline' sounds polite. It's fairly forma,l more for wroiting than speaking.

2.If someone says 'NO' impolitely, which would be better to use?

Of these choices, 'refuse' and reject' are quite strong, quite emphatic. 'Turn down' is slightly less strong, in my opinion, but still carries force.

I don't think people would always say "no" in polite way. That's true.

3. Is 'turn down' formal or informal? It's more informal than formal.

4.Gail invited me to go to the movie with her, but I turned it down.
Is 'turned it down' ok here?  Say 'I turned her down' or I turned her invitation/the idea down'.     It's OK as a way to tell me about your conversation, but it doesn't really tell me much about what you said to Gail or what your level of politeness was. 

Best wishes, Clive

Grammar Geek wrote:

2.'She rejected a hot drink. This sounds a little harsh. I'd use "declined" if it was polite and "refuse" could be either polite or brusque, but "reject" usually applies more to an idea than a thing, unless you are at a factory inspecting products for quality. 3.'She rejected a party invitation. The same as above - although decline is the best choice.

Hi GG,

I'm afraid I don't quite understand your above answer. Do you mean 'reject' can't be used in the sentences #2 and #3?

Could we use 'reject' in the following sentences?

1.He invited me to dinner with him, but I rejected his invitation.'
2.He wanted to buy her a new car, but she rejected his offer.

Thank you very much