Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act of refusing to accept, consider, or grant something: "Rejection" refers to the act of dismissing or declining something offered, proposed, or submitted.
   • The state of being refused or dismissed: "Rejection" can also describe the condition of having one's application, offer, or oneself turned down.
   • (Medicine) An immunological response: In medicine, "rejection" is the process by which the immune system attacks and tries to destroy a transplanted organ or tissue because it is recognized as foreign.

Examples of Usage

• General Act of Refusing:
  • The editor sent a standard letter of rejection to the author.
  • His repeated rejection of their advice led to the project's failure.
• State of Being Refused:
  • She felt a deep sense of rejection after not being invited to the party.
  • Job seekers must learn to cope with frequent rejection.
• Medical Context:
  • Doctors monitor patients closely for signs of organ rejection.
  • The new drug aims to prevent the rejection of the graft.

Advanced Usage

• "to face rejection": to be in a situation where one is likely to be refused.
  • Artists must be prepared to face rejection from galleries.
• "flat rejection": an outright and complete refusal.
  • The proposal met with a flat rejection from the committee.
• "rejection letter/email": a formal communication informing someone they have not been accepted.
  • He received a rejection email from the university last week.

Variants and Related Words

• Reject (verb): To refuse to accept, consider, or submit to.
  • The board will reject any application that is incomplete.
• Rejective (adj., rare): Tending to reject.
• Rejecter (noun): One who rejects.

Synonyms

• Refusal: The act of declining to do something.
• Dismissal: The act of sending someone or something away; rejection.
• Repudiation: The rejection of a proposal, idea, or belief.

Antonyms

• Acceptance: The action of consenting to receive or undertake something.
• Approval: The action of officially agreeing to something or accepting it as satisfactory.

Related Phrases

• Fear of rejection: Anxiety about being turned down or not accepted.
  • His fear of rejection kept him from asking her out.
• Rejection slip: A printed note of rejection from a publisher.
  • The writer's drawer was full of rejection slips.

Noun

1. the speech act of rejecting
2. (medicine) an immunological response that refuses to accept substances or organisms that are recognized as foreign
   • rejection of the transplanted liver
3. the state of being rejected
4. the act of rejecting something
   • his proposals were met with rejection