reject

1 of 2

verb

re·​ject ri-ˈjekt How to pronounce reject (audio)
rejected; rejecting; rejects

transitive verb

1
a
: 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
4
: to spew out
5
: to subject to immunological rejection
rejecter noun
or rejector
rejectingly adverb
rejective adjective

reject

2 of 2

noun

re·​ject ˈrē-ˌjekt How to pronounce reject (audio)
: a rejected person or thing
especially : one rejected as not wanted, unsatisfactory, or not fulfilling requirements
Choose the Right Synonym for reject

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
Democratic lawmakers filed amendments to the chaplain bill but the GOP majority rejected almost all of them, including one requiring parental consent to talk with a chaplain, one barring proselytizing and another requiring chaplains to serve students of all faiths. Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024 The surgery replaced both of the man's kidneys, and the patient did not reject the organ, which worked normally for a month, the Associated Press reported at the time. Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2024 While the organs functioned and the first did not appear to be rejected, both of the patients, who had advanced disease, died shortly afterward. Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024 Related Articles State regulators are ready to reject a plan to phase out these harmful subsidies in 2040, giving major industrial operations decades to keep profiting from this broken program. Darvin Bentlage, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024 Agreeing strongly with their constituents, Surprise councilmembers voted unanimously to reject the controversial proposal. Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 20 Mar. 2024 Mondelez and Mars were both among 50 company brands that signed a statement from GLAAD rejecting harassment and bullying of LGBTQ+ communities in August. Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 20 Mar. 2024 Star Wars mastermind George Lucas — Disney’s largest individual shareholder — has come out with a statement supporting Disney’s board and CEO Bob Iger, urging Mouse House investors to reject bids by two activist investor groups to take seats on the media company’s board. Todd Spangler, Variety, 19 Mar. 2024 And that’s without providing social services, which researchers believe is essential when serving a chronically homeless population, but executives have rejected as too costly. Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Noun
In strip mall parking lots around the United States, people start lining up at 7 a.m. to dig through other people’s rejects. Caroline O'Donovan, Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2023 Their team, the Strikers, has a roster of rejects in hand-me-down coats and lacks good equipment, a deep bench and a coach who shows up on time. Ellen Piligian, Detroit Free Press, 7 Jan. 2024 Bright colors and geometric designs from the rejects survive in the paper casts, calling attention to the material’s recycling. Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2023 The grandparents had made their way in London by waiting outside stocking factories, collecting the rejects, matching up pairs, then selling them off a cart in the East End. Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2023 Traditionally, Haitians are immensely skeptical of, and often outright reject, any solutions that involve foreign boots on the ground, a reluctance justified by the country's deep and painful history with such endeavors. Matt Rivers, ABC News, 31 July 2023 Every character felt like a devil’s reject from a Rob Zombie video – until Rob Zombie himself eventually joined the roster in the 4th game – and their stories generally ended with a morbid monkey’s paw-twist on their heart’s desire. Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 8 June 2023 Looking like a small-time bandit/perpetual masquerade-ball reject — and breathing like Darth Vader — as one attempts to go about one's daily routine has been a notable inconvenience, no matter how lifesaving the action might be and no matter how totally cute and hip many of these masks have been. Helaine Williams, Arkansas Online, 23 May 2021 Photos that weren’t used for promotion at the time were placed in a reject box and stashed away in a file cabinet. Patrick Sauer, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Jan. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'reject.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Latin rejectus, past participle of reicere, from re- + jacere to throw — more at jet

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

circa 1555, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of reject was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near reject

Cite this Entry

“Reject.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reject. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

reject

1 of 2 verb
re·​ject ri-ˈjekt How to pronounce reject (audio)
1
: to refuse to admit, believe, or receive
2
: to throw away as useless or unsatisfactory
3
: to refuse to grant or consider
4
: to cause the rejection of by the immune system
the body of the patient started to reject the transplanted heart

reject

2 of 2 noun
re·​ject ˈrē-ˌjekt How to pronounce reject (audio)
: a rejected person or thing

Medical Definition

reject

transitive verb
re·​ject ri-ˈjekt How to pronounce reject (audio)
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
rejective adjective

Legal Definition

reject

transitive verb
re·​ject ri-ˈjekt How to pronounce reject (audio)
: to refuse to accept, acknowledge, or grant compare revoke

More from Merriam-Webster on reject

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