What is the opposite of “candidate”?

What is the antonym of “candidate”?

The antonyms of candidate are reject and noncandidate. The antonyms reject and noncandidate convey a negative or opposite meaning to the word candidate.

Brief Definitions of the Antonym(s)

Learn when and how to use these words with these examples!

reject

A person or thing dismissed as failing to meet standards or satisfy requirements.

Example

After the interview, he was informed that he was a reject and would not be offered the job.

Example

The company decided to reject his proposal due to budget constraints.

noncandidate

A person who is not considered for a particular position or office.

Example

Since he did not meet the eligibility criteria, he was considered a noncandidate for the position.

How are these antonyms different from each other?

• 1. Reject refers to a person or thing that has been dismissed as failing to meet standards or satisfy requirements.
• 2. Noncandidate refers to a person who is not considered for a particular position or office.

Good things to know

• 1. Recruitment: Use candidate to refer to potential employees and reject to refer to those who did not meet the requirements.
• 2. Elections: Use candidate to refer to individuals running for office and noncandidate to refer to those who are not running.
• 3. Debates: Use candidate and noncandidate to distinguish between individuals who are participating in a debate and those who are not.

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Remember this!

The antonyms of candidate are reject and noncandidate. Use reject to refer to a person or thing that has been dismissed as failing to meet standards or satisfy requirements. Use noncandidate to refer to a person who is not considered for a particular position or office. These words can be used in recruitment, elections, and debates to distinguish between individuals who are participating and those who are not.