Rejects

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Declines to accept or approve something offered or suggested ; refuses to recognize the validity or truth of a claim or argument
2. Does not agree to receive or take in something presented ; decides that something is not worthy or acceptable
3. Acts by turning down or spurning what is proposed or given ; denies the legitimacy or correctness of a statement or idea

Etymology: "Rejects" is the third-person singular form of the verb "reject," so it is the present tense used with "he," "she," or "it." The verb itself has a physical root: Latin "reicere" meant "to throw back," built from "re-" ("back") and "iacere" ("to throw"). The same "iacere" lies behind English words like "eject" and "project," which share that throwing sense. English took the verb in Late Middle English as "rejecten," and it pushed out an older native word. Old English had "āweorpan," meaning "to throw out," which was the everyday way to express the idea before the Latin borrowing arrived. The Latin verb thus replaced a native one with almost the same sense. Over time the physical act of throwing something back became the abstract act of refusing it. To reject a thing is, in effect, to throw it back at the person who offered it, which is why turning down an offer fits the original image so neatly.

Synonyms: refuses, disallows, dismisses, turns down, rebuffs

Antonyms: accepts, embraces, welcomes, receives, adopts