I. re ‧ ject 1 S3 W2 AC /rɪˈdʒekt/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ rejection , ↑ reject ; verb : ↑ reject ]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: past participle of reicere 'to throw back' ]
1 . OFFER/SUGGESTION/IDEA to refuse to accept, believe in, or agree with something OPP accept :
Sarah rejected her brother’s offer of help.
reject something as something
Gibson rejected the idea as ‘absurd’.
Dexter flatly rejected (=completely rejected) calls for his resignation.
His proposal was rejected outright (=completely rejected) .
2 . NOT CHOOSE SOMEBODY to not choose someone for a job, course of study etc OPP accept :
It’s obvious why his application was rejected.
3 . PRODUCT to throw away something that has just been made, because its quality is not good enough:
If inspectors find a defective can, the batch is rejected.
4 . NOT LOVE SOMEBODY to refuse to give someone any love or attention:
Children feel abandoned or rejected if they don’t see their parents regularly.
5 . ORGAN if your body rejects an organ, after a ↑ transplant operation, it does not accept that organ
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adverbs
▪ reject something outright (=completely)
He has not rejected the idea outright.
▪ firmly reject
The British proposals were firmly rejected by the other EU countries.
▪ flatly reject (=in a firm and definite way)
He flatly rejected the rebel’s demands.
▪ totally reject
My client totally rejects the accusations.
▪ categorically/unequivocally reject (=in a definite way, leaving no doubt)
We categorically reject their argument.
▪ unanimously reject (=when all members of a group reject something)
The board unanimously rejected the proposal.
▪ decisively reject (=when most members of a group reject something)
On May 21, the House decisively rejected the President’s proposed budget.
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THESAURUS
▪ refuse to say firmly that you will not do something that someone has asked you to do:
I asked the bank for a loan, but they refused.
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When they refused to leave, we had to call the police.
▪ say no spoken to say that you will not do something when someone asks you:
They asked me so nicely that I couldn’t really say no.
▪ turn somebody/something down to refuse to accept an offer or invitation, or a formal request:
They offered me the job but I turned it down.
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The board turned down a request for $25,000 to sponsor an art exhibition.
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I’ve already been turned down by three colleges.
▪ reject to refuse to accept an idea, offer, suggestion, or plan:
They rejected the idea because it would cost too much money.
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The Senate rejected a proposal to limit the program to two years.
▪ decline formal to politely refuse to accept an offer or invitation, or refuse to do something:
She has declined all offers of help.
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A palace spokesman declined to comment on the rumours.
▪ deny to refuse to allow someone to do something or enter somewhere:
They were denied permission to publish the book.
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He was denied access to the US.
▪ veto to officially refuse to allow a law or plan, or to refuse to accept someone’s suggestion:
Congress vetoed the bill.
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The suggestion was quickly vetoed by the other members of the team.
▪ disallow to officially refuse to accept something because someone has broken the rules, or not done it in the correct way:
The goal was disallowed by the referee.
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The court decided to disallow his evidence.
▪ rebuff formal to refuse to accept someone’s offer, request, or suggestion:
The company raised its offer to $6 billion, but was rebuffed.
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He was politely rebuffed when he suggested holding the show in Dublin.
▪ give somebody/something the thumbs down informal to refuse to allow or accept a plan or suggestion:
The plan was given the thumbs down by the local authority.
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They gave us the thumbs down.
II. re ‧ ject 2 /ˈriːdʒekt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ rejection , ↑ reject ; verb : ↑ reject ]
1 . a product that has been rejected because there is something wrong with it:
a shop selling cheap rejects
2 . someone who is not accepted or liked by another person, or by other people:
They felt that they were society’s rejects.