rejections
Doors slammed shut
Rejections is the plural of rejection—instances of being turned down, refused, or dismissed.
The word appears most often in contexts of romantic pursuit, job applications, and creative submissions: After dozens of rejections, she finally found a publisher.
A rejection can sting whether it comes from a person, an institution, or an immune system rejecting a transplant.
Being barred from participation
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- snubbedIntentionally disregarded
- outcastShunned, rejected person
- cliqueExclusive social group
belonging · isolation · bullying · shunning · alienation · loneliness · peer · acceptance
Crushing emotional pain
- unrequitedNot returned in kind
- ghostingAbruptly ceasing all communication
- dumpedAbruptly ended romantically
- breakupRomantic relationship's termination
friendzone · turned down · spurned · rebuffed · dating · swipe left · crush · courtship
Original text before publication
- submissionYielding to another's will
- publisherCompany releasing books
- editorOne who revises text
- slush pileUnreviewed manuscript accumulation
query letter · literary agent · screenplay · audition · casting · gallery · portfolio · pitch
Formal request for employment
- resumeCareer summary document
- interviewFormal questioning session
- hiringGiving someone work
- candidatePerson seeking selection
qualifications · feedback · cover letter · recruiter · unemployment · career · shortlisted · overqualified
Move tissue between bodies
- organBody's working component
- tissueDisposable soft paper
- immune systemBody's pathogen-fighting network
- antibodiesProteins targeting pathogens
graft · donor · recipient · immunosuppressant · compatibility · host · foreign body · inflammation
Acts of letting in
- collegeHigher education institution
- universityHigher education institution
- waitlistedPlaced in reserve queue
- applicationFormal request document
GPA · transcript · recommendation · scholarship · fellowship · grant · funding · dissertation
exclusion
Being barred from participation
clique · belonging · isolation · bullying · shunning · alienation · loneliness · peer · acceptance · fitting in
heartbreak
Crushing emotional pain
- unrequitedNot returned in kind
- ghostingAbruptly ceasing all communication
- dumpedAbruptly ended romantically
breakup · friendzone · turned down · spurned · rebuffed · dating · swipe left · crush · courtship · proposal
manuscript
Original text before publication
- submissionYielding to another's will
- publisherCompany releasing books
- editorOne who revises text
slush pile · query letter · literary agent · screenplay · audition · casting · gallery · portfolio · pitch · revision
job application
Formal request for employment
candidate · qualifications · feedback · cover letter · recruiter · unemployment · career · shortlisted · overqualified · underqualified
transplant
Move tissue between bodies
- organBody's working component
- tissueDisposable soft paper
- immune systemBody's pathogen-fighting network
antibodies · graft · donor · recipient · immunosuppressant · compatibility · host · foreign body · inflammation · acute
admissions
Acts of letting in
- collegeHigher education institution
- universityHigher education institution
- waitlistedPlaced in reserve queue
application · GPA · transcript · recommendation · scholarship · fellowship · grant · funding · dissertation · peer review
- rejectionsno, refusal, denial letter, decline, turndown
- bureaucracybureaucracy, bureaucrat, bureaucrats, red tape, civil service
- utterancesutterance, statements, exclamation, assertion, questions
- legal actsassignment, agreements, bequest, contracts, conveyance
- publishing woestypos, misprints, errata, deadlines, delays
- Quality ControlQA, QC, calipers, micrometers, quality check
rejectionsacceptances
Affirmative replies received
approvals · agreements · endorsements · confirmations · affirmations
rejectionsembraces
Holds lovingly, or adopts
welcomes · receptions · inclusions · adoptions · acknowledgments
rejectionsselections
Chosen items from options
admissions · admittances · picks · choices · appointments
- fear of rejectionDread of being refused
- rejection letterWritten refusal notice
- organ rejectionBody fighting foreign tissue
- social rejectionExclusion by one's peers
- transplant rejectionImmune attack on implanted tissue
- rejection slipWritten refusal from publisher