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REFERENCE

reject

v.
B1 Intermediate Oxford US //ˈɹidʒɛkt// re·ject Academic General-service Informal Slang Vulgar

v. to refuse to accept, use, or believe something because you think it is not good enough. You use this when you say 'no' to an idea, a gift, or a person.

v. to refuse to accept, acknowledge, use, or believe something. Transitive — requires a direct object; often used in formal or academic contexts to describe the dismissal of a hypothesis or proposal.


SIMPLE

The machine will reject any coins that are too light.

CONTEXTUAL

The committee decided to reject the initial proposal because it did not address the safety concerns raised by the engineers.

COMPLEX

While the editor found the prose compelling, she ultimately had to reject the manuscript because the central argument relied on outdated data that had been superseded by more recent studies.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

From Late Middle English rejecten, from Latin reiectus, past participle of reicere (“to throw back”), from re- (“back”) + iacere (“to throw”). Displaced native Old English āweorpan (literally “to throw out”).

Usage

The verb is transitive and takes a direct object.

Pitfall

The company rejected to hire him.The company rejected his application.Reject takes a noun phrase as an object, not an infinitive 'to' clause.

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