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
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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.
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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
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rejects
plural
verb
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to refuse to accept, acknowledge, use, believe, etc
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to throw out as useless or worthless; discard
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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
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have been rejectingperfect progressive
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has been rejectingperfect progressive
Past
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rejectedsimple
-
had rejectedperfect
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was rejectingprogressive
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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:
"We reject the claims and will defend them vigorously before the tribunal."
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Some local business owners urged the council to reject the ordinance, saying the resulting added costs would be onerous and unnecessary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Americans today are far more likely to share the Courier’s skepticism, not because we reject the egalitarian ideals of the of the Revolution but because we take them for granted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 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
It is not so easy to reject both infinity and zero.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Improper storage or poorly prepared food are often to blame for cases of food poisoning, in which the body rejects the contaminated food.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
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 more I tried to rush, the more rejects I received.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the oil-market disruption is temporary and rejected speculation that the U.S. is weighing a diesel export ban.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
But days earlier, Oyo's family rejected Kijanangoma, the late monarch's cousin, as Tooro's new king.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
US news site Axios also reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman twice called US President Donald Trump to request strikes on the Houthis last week, but that the request was rejected.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
She’s rejected the label several times before, but her recent conversation with “Call Her Daddy” podcaster Alex Cooper featured her strongest denial yet.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
But all rejected that counsel when Odysseus brought back the answer.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
The Chinese government is also rejecting any idea of a slowdown.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
The idea of rejecting the technology outright is unrealistic, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Some in the meetings recommended trying to limit harm to voters by not rejecting the entire batch, according to the person familiar with the discussions.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 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
I have known desert men who chose their places with quiet and slow passion, rejecting the nervousness of a watered world.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
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.
