reject
Americanverb (used with object)
-
rejects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
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
-
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.
-
to discard as useless or unsatisfactory.
The mind rejects painful memories.
-
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
-
rejects
plural
verb
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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
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
-
have been rejectingperfect progressive
-
has been rejectingperfect progressive
Past
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rejectedsimple
-
had rejectedperfect
-
was rejectingprogressive
-
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:
“I reject the premise that you have to choose between clean air and abundant energy,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
"We reject the claims and will defend them vigorously before the tribunal."
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
“Customers won’t reject them, but will they pay you extra for it? That remains to be seen,” said consultant Dan Nicholson, a former General Motors vice president.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
Researchers also use sophisticated computational techniques to distinguish different kinds of particle interactions and reject events that imitate the signatures expected from dark matter.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
So as Aristotle’s arguments were accepted, the Greeks were forced to reject zero, void, the infinite, and infinity.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Widmaier rejects the notion that Erinnerungskultur amounts to a guilt complex.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
A court rejects the state’s attempt to tax based on global revenue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
But the government rejects the criticism, arguing that it has invested in ground-based resources, which it says are more effective, and purchased helicopters for water-bombing operations, with deliveries of the aircraft under way.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The president of Buenos Aires' Banco Provincia, Juan Cuattromo, rejects the notion that Argentines are themselves to blame for getting in over their heads.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
Hattie also attends a private school, an “arts and humanities” school that rejects all forms of standardized tests.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
Authorities at the Temple in Jerusalem determined important dates using the prevailing calendar, but the Qumran sect rejected the idea that human leaders should have that power.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
A coroner has rejected a request for anonymity made on behalf of three council workers who are expected to give evidence at the inquest into the death of Sara Sharif.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Mr. Crichton told Mr. Posner in 1988 that the Times had “never rejected something because it was written by a ghostwriter.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
They feel like I am being rejected on a bad reality show like “Love Island.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
For the most part, scholars in recent years have been reluctant to adopt the term ‘the Scientific Revolution’, and many have explicitly rejected it.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
The Chinese government is also rejecting any idea of a slowdown.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
In rejecting his release in 2021, Newsom said Davis had continued to minimize his role in the crimes and shown a lack of empathy for his victims.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
“The poet must strike a match, light up the cold cosmos, and insist on the power of imagination over the universe of death,” M writes, rejecting disillusionment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal have made several attempts to sign Ollie Watkins, with Villa reportedly rejecting an offer worth around 52m euros.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Peeta lets it lie on his open palm, neither rejecting nor accepting it.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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.
