disclaimer

[ dis-kley-mer ]

noun

1. the act of disclaiming; the renouncing, repudiating, or denying of a claim; disavowal.
2. a person who disclaims.
3. a statement, document, or assertion that disclaims responsibility, affiliation, etc.; disavowal; denial.

disclaimer

/ dɪsˈkleɪmə /

noun

1. a repudiation or denial

Word History and Origins

Origin of disclaimer¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Anglo-French: to disclaim

Example Sentences

France and Laney, for example, added a disclaimer to the start of the documentary stating that some characters had been “digitally disguised” for their protection.

From MIT Technology Review

Food52 clearly notes online that the masks “are not a substitute for N95 or surgical-grade masks and they are not FDA approved,” a disclaimer echoed on nearly all of the product pages for these masks.

From Eater

Since 2018, Facebook has required all political advertisements to carry a disclaimer that they’re paid for or sponsored.

From Ozy

If we discover that the phone, email or website are no longer active or valid … they will no longer be able to use that disclaimer to run ads about social issues, elections or politics.

From Ozy

If they do not, they will no longer be able to use that disclaimer to run ads about social issues, elections or politics.

From Ozy

It also required that ads print a disclaimer if they digitally altered the models.

From The Daily Beast

The editor then removed the disclaimer and printed the letter instead.

From The Daily Beast

Amazon has put a racism disclaimer on its series of “Tom and Jerry” cartoons.

From The Daily Beast

Every Woody Allen review begins with an unspoken disclaimer.

From The Daily Beast

She then laughs and voices the disclaimer, “Well, not really old, but older.”

From The Daily Beast

With some difficulty Jos explained his mother's disclaimer of the title of Senora, and the choice of names she offered to Ramona.

From Project Gutenberg

Evidently this disclaimer is a pretended one; the preceding stanza and ll.

From Project Gutenberg

He wants to get rid of the dust if he can find the true owner, and get a disclaimer of ownership from the gangsters.

From Project Gutenberg

Curious it was, too, how this deeper question ever forced itself to the surface, despite effort and disclaimer.

From Project Gutenberg

And Tishy was not sorry to hear this, because her disclaimer of a binding promise was only true in the letter.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• clause
• retraction
• waiver

More About Disclaimer

What does disclaimer mean?

A disclaimer is a statement or document intended to limit the responsibility or legal liability of a company, organization, or person.

Disclaimers typically claim that the party issuing the disclaimer is NOT responsible for certain risks or is NOT affiliated with certain other parties—they make as many statements as they can to deny responsibility.

Example: The disclaimer at the bottom of the page says that this information should be used for entertainment purposes only.

Where does disclaimer come from?

The first records of disclaimer come from the 1400s. It’s borrowed directly from the Anglo-French word disclaimer. Disclaimer is the noun form of the verb disclaim, which in its most general sense means “to disavow” or “to disown.” It uses the prefix dis- to indicate a reversal or negation.

Instead of making positive claims, a disclaimer typically does the opposite: it uses legal language to avoid any association or position that may put the issuing party at risk of being sued. Disclaimers are used to specify or limit the obligations that could be enforced in a legally recognized relationship, such as between a company and its customers or a website and its users. Disclaimers often make use of lengthy passages of legal jargon (sometimes called fine print), with wording like at your own risk and provided “as is” and not liable for any damages. 

Disclaimers aren’t always so wrapped up in legalese. “Swim at your own risk” and “Beware of dog” are both common disclaimers. Of course, having a disclaimer doesn’t mean a company or other organization will never be responsible for any injuries or damages. But they’re at least intended to make you think that.

In a general sense, a disclaimer can be any statement intended to disavow something or avoid responsibility for something.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to disclaimer?

• disclaim (verb)

What are some words that share a root or word element with disclaimer? 

• claim
• proclaim
• acclaim
• exclaim

What are some words that often get used in discussing disclaimer?

 

• legal
• written
• clause
• waiver
• retraction
• renunciation
• disassociation
• information
• rule

How is disclaimer used in real life?

Disclaimer is most commonly used in a legal context. Disclaimers are often found in contracts and at the bottom of web pages.

Disclaimer.* I own the rights to any content posted from this account. All pictures are mine. All tweets are mine. Also, people are weird..

— Jeff or Jèfè (@jefforjefe) February 17, 2020

One of the reasons I don't use my Company's email for sending Internet mail is that I find the corporate disclaimer embarrasing.

— 𝓟𝓮𝓽𝓮 𝓙𝓸𝓱𝓷𝓼 🏡 (@johnsyweb) February 24, 2009

❗❕❗❕❗❕

Disclaimers:

✏ english isn't my first language so if I make any gramatical errors, i'm sorry.

✏errors ahead

✏ don't mind the date, time, likes and retweets.

💜🐢🐰ENJOY READING!!!💜🐢🐰

— 𝕛𝕦𝕟𝕘𝕣𝕚 𝕒𝕦 📌 (@forjungri) April 7, 2020

 

 

Try using disclaimer!

Which of the following things is a disclaimer intended to avoid?

A. responsibility
B. liability
C. lawsuits
D. all of the above