Rejection

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈd͡ʒɛk.ʃən/

Definitions

1. The act of refusing to accept, consider, or approve something or someone that has been offered or proposed
2. The act of declining to agree to or take something offered or proposed
3. Withholding acceptance or approval of an idea, proposal, or individual

Etymology: The most striking detail is that English once had a perfectly good native word for this idea and lost it. Old English speakers said "āworpennes," a formation built from the verb "āwerpan," meaning to throw out, plus a suffix that turned the action into a state. Its literal sense was something like "thrown-out-ness," the condition of having been cast away. That native word was eventually displaced by a Latin-derived term. The replacement came from Latin "reiectiō," a noun from "reicere," to throw back, formed from "re-" (back) and "iacere" (to throw). English took the word either directly from Latin or through French "réjection," and the two routes produced the same form. So the modern word carries the same core image as its Old English predecessor: something flung back at the one who offered it.

Synonyms: refusal, dismissal, denial, disapproval, repudiation

Antonyms: acceptance, approval, agreement, embrace, welcome