ab|lehnen
Translation
to reject, to refuse, to decline, to turn down
Examples
Er hat mein Angebot abgelehnt.
He rejected my offer.
Sie lehnte es ab, ihm zu helfen.
She refused to help him.
Grammar Patterns
((sth.)) to reject/decline sth. Er hat mein Angebot abgelehnt.
((es ablehnen, zu-Infinitiv)) to refuse to do sth. Sie lehnte es ab, ihm zu helfen.
Similar Words
verweigern (to refuse), zurückweisen (to turn down); Antonyms: annehmen (to accept), zustimmen (to agree)
Etymology
From `ab-` (away, off) + `lehnen` (to lean). To 'lean away' from something is to reject it.
Memory Tips
Imagine someone offers you something you don't want, and you physically 'lean away' (`ablehnen`) from it. The prefix `ab-` is separable.