reject

1.

/rəˈʤɛkt/

refuse to accept or acknowledge

2.

/ˈriʤɛkt/

the person or thing that is set aside as inferior in quality

Other forms: rejected; rejecting; rejects

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."

Definitions of reject (/rəˈʤɛkt/)

1. verb

   refuse to accept or acknowledge
   “I reject the idea of starting a war”

   “The journal rejected the student's paper”

   antonyms:

   accept

   consider or hold as true

   accept

   react favorably to; consider right and proper

   types:

   disbelieve, discredit

   reject as false; refuse to accept

   repudiate

   refuse to acknowledge, ratify, or recognize as valid

   recuse

   challenge or except to a judge as being incompetent or interested, in canon and civil law

   reprobate

   reject (documents) as invalid

   disown, renounce, repudiate

   cast off

   brush aside, brush off, discount, dismiss, disregard, ignore, push aside

   bar from attention or consideration

   cold-shoulder, slight

   pay no attention to, disrespect

   doubt

   consider unlikely or have doubts about

   discredit

   cause to be distrusted or disbelieved

   disbelieve, distrust, mistrust, suspect

   regard as untrustworthy; regard with suspicion; have no faith or confidence in

   shrug off

   minimize the importance of, brush aside

   apostatise, apostatize, tergiversate

   abandon one's beliefs or allegiances

   abjure, forswear, recant, resile, retract

   formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure

   swallow, take back, unsay, withdraw

   take back what one has said

   pass off

   disregard

   flout, scoff

   treat with contemptuous disregard

   turn a blind eye

   refuse to acknowledge

   laugh away, laugh off

   deal with a problem by laughing or pretending to be amused by it

   confound, rebut, refute

   overthrow by argument, evidence, or proof

   deny

   refuse to accept or believe

   disoblige

   ignore someone's wishes

   type of:

   evaluate, judge, pass judgment

   form a critical opinion of
2. verb

   deem wrong or inappropriate
   synonyms: disapprove

   types:

   object

   express or raise an objection or protest or criticism or express dissent

   deprecate

   express strong disapproval of; deplore

   deter, discourage

   try to prevent; show opposition to

   demur, except

   take exception to

   challenge, take exception

   raise a formal objection in a court of law

   carp, cavil, chicane

   raise trivial objections

   mind

   be offended or bothered by; take offense with, be bothered by

   remonstrate

   argue in protest or opposition

   make a stink, raise a stink, raise hell

   take strong and forceful action, as to object or express discontent

   type of:

   evaluate, judge, pass judgment

   form a critical opinion of
3. verb

   refuse to accept
   synonyms: decline, pass up, refuse, turn down

   disdain, freeze off, pooh-pooh, scorn, spurn, turn down

   reject with contempt

   types:

   dishonor, dishonour

   refuse to accept

   bounce

   refuse to accept and send back
4. verb

   refuse entrance or membership
   “Black people were often rejected by country clubs”

   synonyms: refuse, turn away, turn down

   disdain, freeze off, pooh-pooh, scorn, spurn, turn down

   reject with contempt

   antonyms:

   admit

   allow to enter; grant entry to

   admit

   serve as a means of entrance
5. verb

   dismiss from consideration or a contest
   synonyms: eliminate, rule out, winnow out
6. verb

   reject with contempt
   synonyms: disdain, freeze off, pooh-pooh, scorn, spurn, turn down

   decline, pass up, refuse, turn down

   refuse to accept

   refuse, turn away, turn down

   refuse entrance or membership

   types:

   rebuff, repel, snub

   reject outright and bluntly

   type of:

   balk, decline, refuse

   show unwillingness towards
7. verb

   resist immunologically the introduction of some foreign tissue or organ
   “His body rejected the liver of the donor”

   synonyms: refuse, resist

   type of:

   react, respond

   show a response or a reaction to something