Gather refusal means hell (7)
I believe the answer is:
inferno
'hell' is the definition.
('inferno' can be a synonym of 'hell')
'gather refusal' is the wordplay.
'gather' becomes 'infer' ('infer' can be a synonym of 'gather').
'refusal' becomes 'no'.
'infer'+'no'='INFERNO'
'means' is the link.
(Other definitions for inferno that I've seen before include "Hellish poem" , "Large and out-of-control fire" , "Terrible fire" , "Big fire" , "A raging fire as in hell - ask Dante" .)