100 Other Ways to Say “No”

No.	Term	Definition
1.	Absolutely not	Emphatic refusal; not under any circumstances.
2.	Abstain	Choose not to participate or accept.
3.	All set	Politely indicates you don’t need anything else.
4.	Anytime another time	Decline now; suggest a future occasion.
5.	Appreciate it, but	Thanks, followed by a polite refusal.
6.	Barred	Formally prohibited or disallowed.
7.	Beg off	Politely refuse an invitation or request.
8.	Beyond scope	Not included in agreed responsibilities or work.
9.	By no means	Strongly indicates refusal or impossibility.
10.	Can’t comply	Unable or unwilling to follow a request.
11.	Can’t do that	Direct refusal without added explanation.
12.	Cannot accept	Polite refusal to take an offer.
13.	Cannot approve	Formal refusal to authorize or accept.
14.	Cannot commit	Decline due to inability to promise.
15.	Decline	Politely refuse an offer or request.
16.	Declined	Refused; not accepted.
17.	Denied	Officially refused permission or request.
18.	Disallowed	Not permitted under rules or policy.
19.	Disapprove	Refuse to endorse or accept.
20.	Dismiss	Reject as not acceptable or necessary.
21.	Don’t think so	Casual, mild refusal.
22.	Drop it	Tell someone to stop pursuing the matter.
23.	Enough, thanks	Polite refusal of additional help or items.
24.	Excluded	Not included; intentionally left out.
25.	Far from it	Indicates the opposite; not at all.
26.	Forget it	Refusal; stop asking or offering.
27.	Hard pass	Strong, informal refusal.
28.	Hold off	Request to pause or not proceed.
29.	I decline	Formal, direct refusal.
30.	I’d rather not	Polite refusal expressing preference.
31.	I’ll pass	Polite refusal of an offer.
32.	I’m good	Informal way to decline politely.
33.	I’m not able to	Polite refusal citing inability.
34.	I’m not interested	Directly declines due to lack of interest.
35.	Ignore	Choose not to respond or engage.
36.	Impermissible	Not allowed under rules or law.
37.	Inadmissible	Not acceptable or allowed.
38.	Ineligible	Not qualified or allowed to participate.
39.	Insufficient info	Cannot proceed without required details.
40.	Irreconcilable	Cannot be made compatible; refuse alignment.
41.	Lack of approval	Not authorized; therefore declined.
42.	Let’s not	Suggests avoiding the proposed action.
43.	Maybe later	Decline now, leaving possibility open.
44.	Nacked	Informal: rejected or disapproved.
45.	Nay	Formal or archaic vote against.
46.	Negative	Indicates refusal or denial.
47.	Negatory	Slang for a firm negative response.
48.	Neither	Not one or the other; refusal of both.
49.	Never	Absolute refusal at any time.
50.	No can do	Informal refusal; cannot comply.
51.	Not acceptable	Doesn’t meet requirements; refused.
52.	Not approved	Officially not authorized.
53.	Not at this time	Decline for now; timing not suitable.
54.	Not authorized	Lacking permission to proceed.
55.	Not available	Unable to provide or participate.
56.	Not going to happen	Strong refusal; impossible or unwilling.
57.	Not interested	Declines due to lack of interest.
58.	Not now	Decline at the moment.
59.	Not permitted	Forbidden by rule or authority.
60.	Not possible	Cannot be done; refusal implied.
61.	Not suitable	Inappropriate for the situation; declined.
62.	Not today	Declines for the current day.
63.	Not within policy	Refused because rules don’t allow it.
64.	Off the table	Not being considered; rejected.
65.	Out of scope	Not part of the agreed work.
66.	Overruled	Rejected by a higher authority.
67.	Pass	Choose not to accept or participate.
68.	Pass on that	Decline a specific offer.
69.	Pass up	Choose not to take an opportunity.
70.	Politely refuse	Decline with courtesy and respect.
71.	Prohibited	Formally forbidden.
72.	Refuse	Decline to accept or do.
73.	Rejected	Not accepted after consideration.
74.	Rescind	Withdraw acceptance or permission.
75.	Respectfully decline	Formal, courteous refusal.
76.	Scratch that	Cancel the idea; do not proceed.
77.	Sorry, can’t	Apologetic refusal; cannot comply.
78.	Stop	Direct command to cease; refusal to continue.
79.	Thanks, but I’ll pass	Courteous refusal of an offer.
80.	Thanks, but no	Polite refusal after expressing gratitude.
81.	That won’t work	Decline because it’s not feasible.
82.	That’s a no	Clear statement of refusal.
83.	That’s not possible	Refusal due to impossibility.
84.	That’s not workable	Decline because it can’t be implemented.
85.	Turn down	Refuse an offer or request.
86.	Unable to approve	Cannot authorize; therefore refuse.
87.	Unable to comply	Cannot follow the request.
88.	Unacceptable	Not satisfactory; therefore refused.
89.	Unapproved	Not granted authorization.
90.	Unavailable	Not able to participate or provide.
91.	Under no circumstances	Absolute refusal; never allowed.
92.	Unfit	Not appropriate or suitable.
93.	Unpermitted	Not allowed.
94.	Unsuitable	Not appropriate; decline.
95.	Veto	Officially reject or forbid a proposal.
96.	Vote against	Express refusal in a decision process.
97.	Waive	Decline to exercise a right or claim.
98.	Withdraw	Remove participation or consent.
99.	Won’t	Refusal; not willing to do it.
100.	Won’t be able to	Polite refusal citing inability.