refusantadj.n.
/rᵻˈfjuːznt/, U.S. /rəˈfjuznt/, /riˈfjuznt/ That refuses to do something; spec. that refuses to take an oath. In quot. as postmodifier. Obsolete. rare. Cf. recusant adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > nonconformity > recusancy > [adjective] > recusancy
refusant1577
recusant1590
1577 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxf. (1880) 389 Some of the Aldermen and Burgesses refusants [are required] to make their repaier hither to declare what lawfull causes they may have to the contrarye.
B. n.
A person who refuses to do something; = recusant n. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > nonconformity > recusancy > [noun] > person
recusant1552
refusant1581
refuser1610
1581 W. Allen Apol. Two Eng. Colleges vi. f. 75 Al the lawes in the world can not make the refusant a traitour.
1613 Let. 26 Mar. in B. W. Quintrell Maynard Lieutenancy Bk. (1993) I. 29 We..have staied to attempt any further for the compleatinge the troupe..untill we receive..direccion what corse to hold with such refusants.
1631 R. Bolton Instr. Right Comf. Affl. Consciences 420 He hath sworne in his wrath, that such a Refusant shall never enter into His rest.
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xxxiii. 296 There is no help for it; the faithful proselytizer, if she cannot convince by argument, bursts into tears, and the refusant finds himself, at the end of the contest, taking down the bolus.
1983 Washington Q. (Nexis) Summer 122 The reasons must be clear—both to those who consent and to those who refuse, as well as to the polity whose interests both warriors and refusants must ultimately serve.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1577