rij-EKTS
/ɹɪˈdʒɛkts/
rejects is pronounced rij-EKTS (/ɹɪˈdʒɛkts/). Rejects (noun or verb form) refers to things or people that have been declined, refused, or dismissed, or to the act of declining or dismissing something. As a verb, it means to refuse to accept or consider; as a noun, it denotes examples of items or individuals that have been rejected. The term often appears in business, social, or evaluative contexts and can carry negative or critical connotations depending on tone.
Rejects (noun or verb form) refers to things or people that have been declined, refused, or dismissed, or to the act of declining or dismissing something. As a verb, it means to refuse to accept or consider; as a noun, it denotes examples of items or individuals that have been rejected. The term often appears in business, social, or evaluative contexts and can carry negative or critical connotations depending on tone.
"The committee rejects all proposals that don’t meet the criteria."
"She rejects the rumor and defends her integrity."
"The factory rejects shipments that don’t pass quality control."
Pronounce as /rɪˈdʒɛkts/ in US/UK. The stress is on the second syllable: re-JECTs. Start with a short, relaxed /r/ followed by a short /ɪ/. The /dʒ/ is the man-made “j” sound, then /ɛ/ as in “bet,” and end with /kts/ where you combine /k/ with a crisp /t/ and a voiceless /s/. If you’re unsure, listen to the word in phrases like ‘rejects the proposal’ to hear the flow.
Common errors include misplacing stress (saying re-JECTS with weak emphasis), blending /dʒ/ with a simple /j/ or /z/ sound, and misarticulating the final /s/ as a /z/ in plural contexts. To correct: keep /dʒ/ as a single affricate, ensure the vowel is /ɪ/ before it, and clearly release /t/ before the final /s/. Practice by saying ‘re-JECTS’ slowly, then add a natural pace, ending with a crisp /s/.
US/UK/AU share /rɪˈdʒɛkts/ core, but UK often has slightly crisper final /t/ with less vowel reduction in rapid speech, and US tends to a tighter /ɪ/ in the first syllable. Australian pronunciation may feature a more centralized vowel in /ɪ/ and a softer /t/ realized as a tap in fast speech. The rhotics differ: US rhotic, UK non-rhotic in many accents, AU variable but often non-rhotic in broader accents; maintain /r/ only when preceding a vowel.
The challenge lies in the consonant cluster at the end /-kts/ where you must quickly move from the voiceless stop /k/ to the /t/ and then sibilant /s/. This creates a compact, high-precision articulation requiring the tongue to snap from the alveolar /t/ to the alveolar sibilant /s/. Additionally, the /dʒ/ sound following a short /ɪ/ requires careful handling to avoid blending with /j/.]
Note that in fast speech, the vowel in the first syllable can be slightly reduced toward /ɪ/ or even schwa in some accents, but the stressed second syllable keeps a clear /ɛ/ as in ‘bet.’ Maintain a firm /dʒ/ onset, avoid adding a schwa before /ɪ/, and produce /k/ and /t/ with a clean, abrupt release before the final /s/.
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The word rejects derives from the Latin re- ‘back’ + jacere ‘to throw’ or ‘to cast’ via Anglo-French rejecter and Old French rejeter. The earliest English usage appears in the 14th century as “rejecchen,” reflecting the sense of throwing back or turning away. Over time, the meaning narrowed in various domains: in quality control, something is “rejected” for not meeting standards; in social and legal contexts, decisions rejected by a person or body. By the modern period, “reject” functions both as a verb (to refuse or discard) and a noun (an item that has been discarded, or a person deemed unacceptable in certain contexts). The noun sense became common in manufacturing and offense contexts, while the verb expanded to abstract refusals (plans, proposals) and to pejorative labels in colloquial speech. The etymon remains tied to the sense of projection away from acceptance, maintaining a core semantic of removal or non-acceptance across centuries.
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Words that rhyme with "rejects"
-cts sounds
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