2 VERB If you reject a belief or a political system, you refuse to believe in it or to live by its rules. □ [V n] …the children of Eastern European immigrants who had rejected their parents' political and religious beliefs. ● re|jec|tion N‑VAR □ [+ of ] …his rejection of our values.
3 VERB If someone is rejected for a job or course of study, it is not offered to them. □ [be V -ed] One of my most able students was rejected by another university. [Also V n] ● re|jec|tion N‑COUNT □ Be prepared for lots of rejections before you land a job.
4 VERB If someone rejects another person who expects affection from them, they are cold and unfriendly towards them. □ [be V -ed] …people who had been rejected by their lovers. ● re|jec|tion N‑VAR □ These feelings of rejection and hurt remain.
5 VERB If a person's body rejects something such as a new heart that has been transplanted into it, it tries to attack and destroy it. □ [V n] It was feared his body was rejecting a kidney he received in a transplant four years ago. ● re|jec|tion N‑VAR □ [+ of ] …a special drug which stops rejection of transplanted organs.
6 VERB If a machine rejects a coin that you put in it, the coin comes out and the machine does not work.
7 N‑COUNT A reject is a product that has not been accepted for use or sale, because there is something wrong with it.
re|jig /riː dʒ I g/ (rejigs , rejigging , rejigged ) VERB If someone rejigs an organization or a piece of work, they arrange or organize it in a different way, in order to improve it. [BRIT ] □ [V n] …adjustments needed to rejig the industry. in AM, use rejigger
re|jig|ger /riː dʒ I gə r / (rejiggers , rejiggering , rejiggered ) VERB If someone rejiggers an organization or a piece of work, they arrange or organize it in a different way, in order to improve it. [AM ] □ [V n] The government is rejiggering some tax assessment methods. in BRIT, use rejig
re|joice /r I dʒɔ I s/ (rejoices , rejoicing , rejoiced ) VERB If you rejoice , you are very pleased about something and you show it in your behaviour. □ [V + in/at ] Garbo plays the Queen, rejoicing in the love she has found with Antonio. □ [V that] Party activists rejoiced that the presidential campaign had finally started. [Also V ] ● re|joic|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ at ] There was general rejoicing at the news.
re|join /riː dʒɔ I n/ (rejoins , rejoining , rejoined )
1 VERB If you rejoin a group, club, or organization, you become a member of it again after not being a member for a period of time. □ [V n] He rejoined the 12th Lancers on recovery from his wounds. [Also V ]
2 VERB If you rejoin someone, you go back to them after a short time away from them. □ [V n] Mimi and her family went off to Tunisia to rejoin her father.
3 VERB If you rejoin a route, you go back to it after travelling along a different route for a time. □ [V n] At Dorset Wharf go left to rejoin the river.
re|join|der /r I dʒɔ I ndə r / (rejoinders ) N‑COUNT A rejoinder is a reply, especially a quick, witty, or critical one, to a question or remark. [FORMAL ]
re|ju|venate /r I dʒuː vəne I t/ (rejuvenates , rejuvenating , rejuvenated )
1 VERB If something rejuvenates you, it makes you feel or look young again. □ [V n] Shelley was advised that the Italian climate would rejuvenate him. ● re|ju|venat|ing ADJ □ The hotel's new Spa offers every kind of rejuvenating treatment and therapy.
2 VERB If you rejuvenate an organization or system, you make it more lively and more efficient, for example by introducing new ideas. □ [V n] The government pushed through schemes to rejuvenate the inner cities. ● re|ju|vena|tion /r I dʒuː vəne I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ The way Britain organises its politics needs rejuvenation.
re|kin|dle /riː k I nd ə l/ (rekindles , rekindling , rekindled )
1 VERB If something rekindles an interest, feeling, or thought that you used to have, it makes you think about it or feel it again. □ [V n] Every return visit rekindles fantastic memories.
2 VERB If something rekindles an unpleasant situation, it makes the unpleasant situation happen again. □ [V n] There are fears that the series could rekindle animosity between the two countries.
re|lapse /r I læ ps/ (relapses , relapsing , relapsed ) The noun can be pronounced /r I læ ps/ or /riː læps/. 1 VERB If you say that someone relapses into a way of behaving that is undesirable, you mean that they start to behave in that way again. □ [V + into ] 'I wish I did,' said Phil Jordan, relapsing into his usual gloom. ● N‑COUNT Relapse is also a noun. □ [+ into ] …a relapse into the nationalism of the nineteenth century.
2 VERB If a sick person relapses , their health suddenly gets worse after it had been improving. □ [V ] In 90 per cent of cases the patient will relapse within six months. ● N‑VAR Relapse is also a noun. □ The treatment is usually given to women with a high risk of relapse after surgery.