reject

verb

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re·ject | \ ri-ˈjekt

rejected; rejecting; rejects

Definition of reject

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to refuse to accept, consider, submit to, take for some purpose, or use rejected the suggestion reject a manuscript

b : to refuse to hear, receive, or admit : rebuff, repel parents who reject their children

c : to refuse as lover or spouse

2 obsolete : to cast off

3 : throw back, repulse

4 : to spew out

5 : to subject to immunological rejection

reject

noun

re·ject | \ ˈrē-ˌjekt

Definition of reject (Entry 2 of 2)

: a rejected person or thing especially : one rejected as not wanted, unsatisfactory, or not fulfilling requirements

Other Words from reject Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More About reject

Other Words from reject

Verb

rejecter or rejector \ ri-ˈjek-tər

\ noun

rejectingly \ ri-ˈjek-tiŋ-lē

\ adverb

rejective \ ri-ˈjek-tiv

\ adjective

Synonyms & Antonyms for reject

Synonyms: Verb

Synonyms: Noun

Antonyms: Verb

Choose the Right Synonym for reject

Verb

decline, refuse, reject, repudiate, spurn mean to turn away by not accepting, receiving, or considering. decline often implies courteous refusal especially of offers or invitations. declined his party's nomination refuse suggests more positiveness or ungraciousness and often implies the denial of something asked for. refused to lend them the money reject implies a peremptory refusal by sending away or discarding. rejected the manuscript as unpublishable repudiate implies a casting off or disowning as untrue, unauthorized, or unworthy of acceptance. teenagers who repudiate the values of their parents spurn stresses contempt or disdain in rejection or repudiation. spurned his overtures of friendship

Examples of reject in a Sentence

Verb My teacher rejected my excuse for being late. The committee rejected my proposal. The produce inspector rejected several crates of berries that had begun to grow mold. The college rejects hundreds of applicants each year. We rejected 5 of the 10 job applicants right away. Noun Stack the promising applications here, and put the rejects over there. was the school reject as a child and has low self-esteem even today

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Republicans reject that connection and say election rules are best left in states’ hands. — Ken Thomas, WSJ, 6 Jan. 2022 First, when losing political parties in democracies reject election results, domestic terrorism increases and gets more intense. — James Piazza, The Conversation, 3 Jan. 2022 But Texas went in the other direction, becoming the only state to officially reject the agency’s conclusions. — Maya Miller, ProPublica, 30 Dec. 2021 And in the end, after years with the transplant, the body may still eventually reject the organ. — Madeline Buckley, chicagotribune.com, 29 Dec. 2021 But if the court does reject any of the maps, there’s one major, looming problem: filing deadlines for candidates. — Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland, 22 Dec. 2021 Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler, a Stone Mountain Democrat, cited that pairing as one reason to reject the House map. — Jeff Amy, ajc, 12 Nov. 2021 By keeping Virginia out of TCI, Governor-elect Youngkin won’t be the only governor to reject the regional cap and trade program. — Patrick Gleason, Forbes, 9 Nov. 2021 The Biden administration promised a more graceful immigration system, yet his team clings to Title 42 of the Public Health Service Act, leaning on COVID as a reason to reject those seeking asylum without a hearing. — BostonGlobe.com, 24 Sep. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Yes, the premise sounds a bit like it was found on the reject list at a B-movie studio, but Yoder’s commitment to describing the animal nature of parenting carries it through with maximal success. — Hillary Kelly, Vulture, 15 Dec. 2021 Cuomo wasn't just another Michael Avenatti from the hot take reject pile. — W. James Antle Iii, The Week, 10 Aug. 2021 Twitterverse has done it once again, gifting America the dazzling crossover of glove meme, unstable nerd, and Mickey Mouse Club reject. — Natalie Lin, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2021 Once just a reject, Jade now becomes the town’s resident kook and more than a little bit of a menace. — Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2021 Critics of the law say it is being used to crush dissent, which authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong reject. — NBC News, 10 June 2019 Finally, the vaccine-hostile reject the medical and epidemiological research on COVID-19, deeply mistrust COVID-19 vaccine research, and/or don't trust scientific authority or the government. — Michael Osterholm And J. Michael Oakes, Star Tribune, 22 June 2021 Many fans call the amorphous sound social reject music, which captures their ironic sense of themselves as the lowest of the low, playfully dissing one another for devouring such low-quality, earsplitting, coarse rap tunes. — New York Times, 16 May 2021 In 2019, Vaughtons supplied Aston Martin with 86,000 components, (which is a lot for a small British automotive company) and had a 0% reject rate. — Bryan Campbell, Forbes, 28 Apr. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'reject.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Learn More About reject

Dictionary Entries Near reject

rejd

reject

rejectable

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Last Updated

9 Jan 2022

Cite this Entry

“Reject.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reject. Accessed 16 Jan. 2022.

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More Definitions for reject

reject

verb

English Language Learners Definition of reject

(Entry 1 of 2)

: to refuse to believe, accept, or consider (something)

: to decide not to publish (something) or make (something) available to the public because it is not good enough

: to refuse to allow (someone) to join a club, to attend a school, etc.

reject

noun

English Language Learners Definition of reject (Entry 2 of 2)

: something that is not good enough for some purpose : something that cannot be used or accepted

: a person who is not accepted or liked by other people

See the full definition for reject in the English Language Learners Dictionary

reject

verb

re·ject | \ ri-ˈjekt

rejected; rejecting

Kids Definition of reject

(Entry 1 of 2)

: to refuse to accept, believe, or consider Dad rejected my excuse. He rejected their offer.

reject

noun

re·ject | \ ˈrē-ˌjekt

Kids Definition of reject (Entry 2 of 2)

: a person or thing not accepted as good enough for some purpose

reject

transitive verb

re·ject | \ ri-ˈjekt

Medical Definition of reject

1 : to rebuff, repel, refuse to hear, or withhold love from especially : to communicate negative feelings toward and a wish to be free of parents who reject their children

2 : to subject to immunological rejection rejected a heart transplant