reject
Americanverb (used with object)
-
rejects,
present (3rd person singular)
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rejected,
past participle, past
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rejecting
present participle
-
to refuse to have, take, recognize, etc..
to reject the offer of a better job.
- Synonyms:
- deny
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to refuse to grant (a request, demand, etc.).
- Synonyms:
- deny
-
to refuse to accept (someone or something); rebuff.
The other children rejected him. The publisher rejected the author's latest novel.
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to discard as useless or unsatisfactory.
The mind rejects painful memories.
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to cast out or eject; vomit.
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to cast out or off.
-
Medicine/Medical. (of a human or other animal) to have an immunological reaction against (a transplanted organ or grafted tissue).
If tissue types are not matched properly, a patient undergoing a transplant will reject the graft.
noun
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rejects
plural
verb
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to refuse to accept, acknowledge, use, believe, etc
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to throw out as useless or worthless; discard
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to rebuff (a person)
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(of an organism) to fail to accept (a foreign tissue graft or organ transplant) because of immunological incompatibility
noun
Synonym Usage
See refuse 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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rejecternoun
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rejectionnoun
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prerejectverb (used with object)
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quasi-rejectedadjective
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rejectableadjective
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rejectiveadjective
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unrejectableadjective
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unrejectedadjective
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unrejectiveadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rejectsimple
-
rejectssimple
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have rejectedperfect
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has rejectedperfect
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am rejectingprogressive
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are rejectingprogressive
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is rejectingprogressive
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have been rejectingperfect progressive
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has been rejectingperfect progressive
Past
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rejectedsimple
-
had rejectedperfect
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was rejectingprogressive
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were rejectingprogressive
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had been rejectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reject
First recorded in 1485–95; (verb) from Latin rējectus, past participle of rējicere “to throw back,” equivalent to re- re- + jec-, combining form of jacere “to throw” + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
When you reject something, you rule it out or dismiss it. If you're trying to pick a fancy restaurant to go to for your birthday, you'll probably reject the diner you went to just yesterday. The verb reject has several shades of meaning. Reject can mean to refuse to accept or agree with something. If you don't believe space aliens are living on earth, you reject the idea — you just don't believe it. Reject can also mean to treat someone with contempt: "My former best friend rejected me to hang out with a different crowd — but I found new friends with whom I had more in common."
Vocabulary lists containing reject
Dissed List: Breakup Words for Valentine's Day
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Essential English Vocabulary, List 3
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Schooled
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Asked whether he would say sorry for his "disrespectful behaviour" in parliament on Tuesday, the Australian leader said: "I reject the assertion in the question."
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Murrill has been pushing the court since September 2024 to reject his compensation claim and also to reinstate a manslaughter charge against him.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
Cassidy next noted that Blanche, who has led the DOJ in an acting capacity since April, could continue to do so even if senators reject him.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
They reject this characterisation, saying they are peaceful and - though funded from the Pakistan-administered Kashmir community abroad - not sponsored by India.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
The entire thrust of the colonists’ justification for independence was to reject that designation on the grounds that they possessed all the rights of British citizens.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
With Ovy, Karol revived the shadowy timbre of her joint Shakira track “TQG” into the new “Bebiendo Lágrimas,” a reggaeton song that adamantly rejects the notion of love.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Aguirre rejects calls for sweeping new AI legislation, arguing that existing labour, privacy and consumer protection laws can be adapted more quickly through regulatory guidance.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Workers and their lawyers say the state rejects many claims for treatments after accepting an initial claim.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
But Hezbollah rejects the agreement outright despite Lebanese government pressure, lowering expectations of success in the negotiations.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
One or two of the rejects manage to scarf a fistful of food before flying headfirst out of the cookhouse.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
In his victory remarks Wednesday morning, Crowley rejected the framing of an intra-party conflict.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
An opposition MP asked Albanese on Tuesday if he would apologise for the "foul-mouthed, classless comments about women", to which the prime minister said he "rejected the assertion of the question".
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
After Aurora declined to negotiate and rejected a follow-up outreach in early July Curaleaf decided to take the offer directly to shareholders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
The news arrives a little more than three months after the video-game retailer made its $56 billion offer to buy eBay, which eBay rejected several days later.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
“Yes, hiding. You’ve run away from both camps. You’re so afraid you’ll get rejected that you won’t even try. Maybe it’s time you come out of the shadows.”
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Altomare said students with private Italian sponsors are also not being evacuated, questioning the rationale for rejecting such applicants.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
At first human operators were commonly rejecting the AI model’s recommendations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
As the fused worms began rejecting foreign tissue, Chai detected a rise in activin followed by chronic inflammation.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
Investigators said the breach was limited, involving about 40-50 people, and the Supreme Court ruled the exam's overall integrity remained intact, rejecting calls for a re-test.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
It was a difficult position to take; Descartes was certainly mindful of the metaphysical problems of rejecting the vacuum entirely.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
