reject

[ri-jekt, ree-jekt]

verb (used with object)

1. to refuse to have, take, recognize, etc..

   to reject the offer of a better job.

   Synonyms: deny

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

   Synonyms: deny

3. to refuse to accept (someone or something); rebuff.

   The other children rejected him. The publisher rejected the author's latest novel.

   Synonyms: renounce, repel

4. to discard as useless or unsatisfactory.

   The mind rejects painful memories.

   Synonyms: jettison, eliminate

5. to cast out or eject; vomit.

6. to cast out or off.

7. 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.

   Synonyms: second

reject

verb

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

2. to throw out as useless or worthless; discard

3. to rebuff (a person)

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

noun

1. something rejected as imperfect, unsatisfactory, or useless

Other Word Forms

• rejective adjective
• rejection noun
• rejectable adjective
• rejecter noun
• prereject verb (used with object)
• quasi-rejected adjective
• unrejectable adjective
• unrejected adjective
• unrejective adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of reject¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of reject¹

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

Synonym Study

See refuse ¹.

Example Sentences

Wareing tabled a motion to get the council to accept that tourism was a problem for the village in May 2024, which was rejected by six voted to four.

From BBC

But in many ways it encapsulates the Kremlin's current position on the war in Ukraine: "Yes, we want peace, but only on our terms. You reject our terms? No peace then."

From BBC

"It is imperative that the panel's recommendations aren't rubber-stamped but instead are rigorously and scientifically reviewed before being accepted or rejected," she wrote.

From BBC

Some officials rejected complaints, with one Krasnoyarsk bureaucrat suggesting remote workers who lost income should "go and work for the special military operation", as the war in Ukraine is known in Russia.

From BBC

“Happy Together,” a song rejected by a number of pop groups, revived the group’s fortunes, thanks in part to a sterling arrangement masterminded by new bassist Chip Douglas.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• deny 
• dismiss 
• rebuff 
• refuse 
• renounce 
• repudiate 
• scrap 
• spurn 
• turn down 
• veto