reject
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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.
-
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
verb
-
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
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.
As we do, I hope we will reject the extremes of both the left and the right.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
He says within the transgender community there can be pressure to reject earlier identities, explaining: "You have to prove you hated your former life to make it more palatable for the people around you."
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
Six days later Kyle gave a speech at the Munich Security Conference in which he said "in the UK, we reject the doomsayers and the pessimists" about artificial intelligence.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
According to the regulator’s timeline, it typically would make a decision to approve or reject a merger within 15 months after it accepts the merger application.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
It is not so easy to reject both infinity and zero.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
