Society preserved the rejected (7)
I believe the answer is:
scorned
'rejected' is the definition.
('scorn' can be a synonym of 'reject')
'society preserved' is the wordplay.
'society' becomes 's' (common abbreviation in names of organisations).
'preserved' becomes 'corned' (similar in meaning).
's'+'corned'='SCORNED'
'the' is the link.
This may not be right. It may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for scorned that I've seen before include "''Hell hath no fury like a woman .. . . . . .''" , "Dismissed" , "Treated with contempt" , "Derided" .)