reject

[ verb ri-jekt; noun ree-jekt ]
See synonyms for: rejectrejectedrejectingrejects on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to refuse to have, take, recognize, etc.: to reject the offer of a better job.

  2. to refuse to grant (a request, demand, etc.).

  1. to refuse to accept (someone or something); rebuff: The other children rejected him. The publisher rejected the author's latest novel.

  2. to discard as useless or unsatisfactory: The mind rejects painful memories.

  3. to cast out or eject; vomit.

  4. to cast out or off.

  5. 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
  1. something rejected, as an imperfect article.

Origin of reject

1
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

synonym study For reject

1. See refuse1.

Other words for reject

Other words from reject

  • re·ject·a·ble, adjective
  • re·ject·er, noun
  • re·jec·tive, adjective
  • pre·re·ject, verb (used with object)
  • qua·si-re·ject·ed, adjective
  • un·re·ject·a·ble, adjective
  • un·re·ject·ed, adjective
  • un·re·jec·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use reject in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for reject

reject

verb(rɪˈdʒɛkt) (tr)
  1. to refuse to accept, acknowledge, use, believe, etc

  2. to throw out as useless or worthless; discard

  1. to rebuff (a person)

  2. (of an organism) to fail to accept (a foreign tissue graft or organ transplant) because of immunological incompatibility

noun(ˈriːdʒɛkt)
  1. something rejected as imperfect, unsatisfactory, or useless

Origin of reject

1
C15: from Latin rēicere to throw back, from re- + jacere to hurl

Derived forms of reject

  • rejectable, adjective
  • rejecter or rejector, noun
  • rejection, noun
  • rejective, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012