rejection

[ri-jek-shuhn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rejection ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act or process of rejecting.

the state of being rejected.

something that is rejected.

Origin of rejection

1545–55; < Latin rējectiōn- (stem of rējectiō) a throwing back, equivalent to rēject(us) (see reject) + -iōn- -ion

Related formsnon·re·jec·tion, nounpre·re·jec·tion, noun

Synonyms for rejection

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rejection ON THESAURUS.COM

1, 2. refusal, spurning, dismissal, elimination.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for rejection

veto, elimination, repudiation, exclusion, turndown, dismissal, bounce, renunciation, nix, pass, rebuff, brush-off, disallowance

Examples from the Web for rejection

Contemporary Examples of rejection

Yet, what my peers do not realize – or cannot handle – is that rejection is a necessary part of forging a romantic relationships.
Random Hook-Ups or Dry Spells: Why Millennials Flunk College Dating
Ellie Schaack
January 1, 2015
Kanye refuses to stomach any rejection, no matter how upper crust.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s Balmain Campaign: High Fashion Meets Low Culture
Amy Zimmerman
December 23, 2014
And the rejection of that belief is the basic reason a person is a Republican.
Democrats Are Petrified of Defending Government—but They Need to Start
Michael Tomasky
December 4, 2014
It is hardly a rejection of adulthood, rather a momentary escape from routine.
Don’t Diss the Beauty of Brunch: Defending Our Favorite Meal
Tim Teeman
October 15, 2014
But the one-term Republican could still be spared from rejection.
Could Maine Re-Elect Its Wingnut Governor Paul LePage?
Ben Jacobs
August 21, 2014

Historical Examples of rejection

Mr. Disraeli, in the Commons, moved the rejection of the bill.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
Dreading a rejection, I solicited the interest of the merry damsel.
The Seven Vagabonds (From "Twice Told Tales")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Mammy was very nearly indignant in her rejection of the proposition.
Southern Lights and Shadows
Various
On a divan the motion for rejection was carried by 178 to 136.
Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, July 8, 1914
Various
What do you suppose must have been my feelings, after this rejection, at the thought of my own dishonour?
Symposium
Plato

Word Origin and History for rejection

1550s, from French réjection (16c.) or directly from Latin reiectionem (nominative reiectio) "act of throwing back," noun of action from past participle stem of reicere (see reject). In 19c., it also could mean "excrement." Medical transplant sense is from 1954. In the psychological sense, relating to parenting, from 1931.

rejection in Medicine

rejection

[rĭ-jĕk′shən]

n.

The act of rejecting or the state of being rejected.

The failure of a recipient's body to accept a transplanted tissue or organ as the result of immunological incompatability; immunological resistance to foreign tissue.

rejection in Culture

rejection

A process in which the immune system of a body attacks an organ or tissue, either its own or tissue transplanted into it from another organism. (See xenotransplantation.)

Note

Rejection is the most serious problem faced in surgery involving organ transplants. Drugs are used to suppress the immune system after organ transplant in order to prevent the rejection of and eventual death of the transplanted tissue.