reject

[ verb ri-jekt; noun ree-jekt ]

/ verb rɪˈdʒɛkt; noun ˈri dʒɛkt /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: reject / rejected / rejecting / rejects on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to refuse to have, take, recognize, etc.: to reject the offer of a better job.

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

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

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

to cast out or eject; vomit.

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

something rejected, as an imperfect article.

OTHER WORDS FOR reject

1, 2 deny.

3 repel, renounce.

4 eliminate, jettison.

8 second.

See synonyms for reject on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

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

synonym study for reject

1. See refuse¹.

OTHER WORDS FROM reject

re·ject·a·ble, adjectivere·ject·er, nounre·jec·tive, adjectivepre·re·ject, verb (used with object)

qua·si-re·ject·ed, adjectiveun·re·ject·a·ble, adjectiveun·re·ject·ed, adjectiveun·re·jec·tive, adjective

Words nearby reject

reiteration, Reiter's syndrome, Reith, reive, Réjane, reject, rejectamenta, rejectee, rejection, rejectionist, rejection region

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use reject in a sentence

Then I glanced at the second book and woefully added it to the reject pile.
How to take an overnight trip with your two-wheeled vehicle|Melanie D.G. Kaplan|March 26, 2021|Washington Post
“I firmly and wholeheartedly reject the allegations,” Hawking said from a Cambridge Hospital.
The Other Side of Stephen Hawking: Strippers, Aliens, and Disturbing Abuse Claims|Marlow Stern|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As Assaf put it, “this is one way to reject extremism and make it so the people are not afraid.”
Middle East Goes Monty Python on ISIS|Dean Obeidallah|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And I was wondering how you combat that impulse to reject the young?
Martin Amis Talks About Nazis, Novels, and Cute Babies|Ronald K. Fried|October 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

His Mormon faith was no reason to reject his candidacy, he argued.
It’s Official: Religion Doesn’t Make You More Moral|Elizabeth Picciuto|September 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I reject angrily authority that exists without my respect.
Brecht's Mercenary Mother Courage Turns 75|Katie Baker|September 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If you use it wisely, it may be Ulysses' hauberk; if you reject it, the shirt of Nessus were a cooler winding-sheet!
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
No man would reject the words of God if he knew that God spoke those words.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
Again, a principal cannot accept part of an agent's act and reject the remainder.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
If eager to get the most possible, she would reject the gift of money and claim her dower rights.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
Early stages of great grief reject comfort, but they long, with intense longing, for sympathy.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness|Florence Hartley

British Dictionary definitions for reject

reject

verb (rɪˈdʒɛkt) (tr)

to refuse to accept, acknowledge, use, believe, etc

to throw out as useless or worthless; discard

to rebuff (a person)

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

noun (ˈriːdʒɛkt)

something rejected as imperfect, unsatisfactory, or useless

Derived forms of reject

rejectable, adjectiverejecter or rejector, nounrejection, nounrejective, adjective

Word Origin for reject

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

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

Medical definitions for reject

reject

[ rĭ-jĕkt′ ]

To refuse to accept, submit to, believe, or use something.

To discard as defective or useless; throw away.

To spit out or vomit.

To resist immunologically introduction of a transplanted organ or tissue; fail to accept in one's body.

reject

OTHER WORDS FOR reject

Origin of reject

synonym study for reject

OTHER WORDS FROM reject

Words nearby reject

Words related to reject

How to use reject in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for reject

Derived forms of reject

Word Origin for reject

Medical definitions for reject