rejected; rejecting; rejects
: a rejected person or thing
especially
: one rejected as not wanted, unsatisfactory, or not fulfilling requirements
Synonyms
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
Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune Europe, 15 Apr. 2024
In September, the state Senate in a party-line vote rejected the appointment of Wolfe.
—Journal Sentinel, 15 Apr. 2024
Critics also point out that, while content showing sexualized women are typically allowed, ads that address women’s pain or depict a more unglamorous and unvarnished picture of women’s experiences are more likely to be rejected.
—Eva Rothenberg, CNN, 14 Apr. 2024
How could a woman like Molly, who would have known in her bones the fear that comes with being pregnant and unmarried in a small, socially repressive country, reject her son’s lover and unborn child, and thereby inflict that terror on someone else?
—Maggie Doherty, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2024
Finance officials said deeper cuts would be necessary the following fiscal year if voters reject the two city revenue measures.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2024
Finally, tap twice to answer or end a call, or press and hold to reject an incoming call.
—Mark Knapp, PCMAG, 11 Apr. 2024
His attempts to attain membership at private clubs were repeatedly rejected.
—Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
Republican lawmakers also rejected $16 million in federal dollars for meals for low-income children over the summer, when school is not in session.
—Ian Max Stevenson, Idaho Statesman, 11 Apr. 2024
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
Verb
The case was partially dismissed in February, per Reuters, with Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín rejecting claims of copyright infringement and that the businesses unjustly enriched themselves through other people’s work.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune Europe, 15 Apr. 2024
In September, the state Senate in a party-line vote rejected the appointment of Wolfe.
—Journal Sentinel, 15 Apr. 2024
Critics also point out that, while content showing sexualized women are typically allowed, ads that address women’s pain or depict a more unglamorous and unvarnished picture of women’s experiences are more likely to be rejected.
—Eva Rothenberg, CNN, 14 Apr. 2024
How could a woman like Molly, who would have known in her bones the fear that comes with being pregnant and unmarried in a small, socially repressive country, reject her son’s lover and unborn child, and thereby inflict that terror on someone else?
—Maggie Doherty, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2024
Finance officials said deeper cuts would be necessary the following fiscal year if voters reject the two city revenue measures.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2024
Finally, tap twice to answer or end a call, or press and hold to reject an incoming call.
—Mark Knapp, PCMAG, 11 Apr. 2024
His attempts to attain membership at private clubs were repeatedly rejected.
—Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
Republican lawmakers also rejected $16 million in federal dollars for meals for low-income children over the summer, when school is not in session.
—Ian Max Stevenson, Idaho Statesman, 11 Apr. 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.
Dictionary Entries Near reject
Cite this Entry
“Reject.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reject. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
reject
1 of 2 verb
re·ject
ri-ˈjekt 
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
: a rejected person or thing
Medical Definition
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