Hōʻole

to deny, refuse, reject, veto, contradict, prohibit, protest, nullify, disclaim, renounce, repudiate; refusal, denial, negative.

Whenever something is refused or rejected we say (and by we I mean me) hōʻole ʻia, with the ʻi stretched out for emphasis (more like 'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaa) with a little tilt in the head. Usually it's something that I actually wanted to be rejected or refused, like when my kids ask their dad if they can do something that they knew I would not let them do but they thought dad would (don't you just hate it when they do that?). And then "dad" sees the look on my face and just KNOWS to refuse their request. Then I hum the little ditty to myself...."hōʻole ʻia" (please imagine that ʻia being stretched oooouuuutttt). REJECTED!

You may have recognized ʻole in there. same ʻole as you find in ʻaʻole and ʻaʻohe, meaning no or none. By putting the hō in front of it (remember hoʻo-? it's a causative) it literally means to cause no-ness. to deny! When you stick ʻia after that (ʻia makes words passive for you English language buffs) it makes it passive. Kind of like "denied". I have visions of a big rubber stamp marked: HŌ'OLE ʻIA on all my tax papers and loan requests.

hōʻole 'ia - denied
hōʻole loa - to deny or refuse absolutely
hōʻole Akua - to deny the existence of God; atheist
hōʻole wai ʻona - prohibition of intoxicants (literally - to prohibit intoxicating liquids)
Mai hōʻole i ka makua - don't refuse the parent