refusée

Refusée is the feminine form of the French past participle refusé, meaning something that has been refused or rejected. In general use, refusée functions as an adjective that agrees with a feminine noun, as in une proposition refusée or une demande refusée. It can also appear—as a nominalized form—in contexts where the feminine form denotes a thing that has been refused, though this usage is less common than the straightforward adjectival use.

In grammar, refusée demonstrates agreement rules for participles used as adjectives. When the underlying verb is refuser, the past participle refusé takes the feminine ending -ée to modify a feminine noun (for example, une offre refusée). The masculine form is refusé, and the plural forms are refusés (masculine) and refusées (feminine).

Historically, refusée is associated with the Salon des Refusés, the 1863 Paris exhibition of works refused by the official Salon jury. The event, announced by the authorities of Napoleon III’s era, showcased paintings that had been rejected by the traditional jury and is widely cited as a turning point in modern art. It helped bring attention to artists and works that later became central to discussions of contemporary art in Europe.

Today, refusée appears in administrative and evaluative language to label submissions that were not accepted. It remains a standard feminine form aligned with gender and number of the noun it describes, continuing to reflect French grammar where participles used as adjectives agree with the nouns they modify.