这两个词我觉得都是拒绝，reject是干脆直接拒绝，decline是委婉客气的拒绝，有区别吗？

楼主，主编只是婉言拒稿。

都是拒绝！

区别不大，但是编辑既然说了认真修改后，可以重新考虑，那就好好改吧。

这两个词没区别，个人喜好吧！不过给重投机会，就要抓住！

mark

Normally the word is reject, instead of decline, but it depends. Based on your explanation, what the reviewer said was to reject your manuscript, and the editor said he will decline (that is, reject) your publication until you make substantial changes. It's a different way of saying the same，