abdicate
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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abdicationnoun
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abdicatornoun
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abdicableadjective
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abdicativeadjective
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nonabdicativeadjective
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unabdicatedadjective
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unabdicatingadjective
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unabdicativeadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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abdicatesimple
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abdicatessimple
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have abdicatedperfect
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has abdicatedperfect
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am abdicatingprogressive
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are abdicatingprogressive
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is abdicatingprogressive
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have been abdicatingperfect progressive
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has been abdicatingperfect progressive
Past
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abdicatedsimple
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had abdicatedperfect
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was abdicatingprogressive
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were abdicatingprogressive
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had been abdicatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of abdicate
First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin abdicāt(us) “renounced,” past participle of abdicāre “to renounce,” from ab- ab- + dicāre “to indicate, consecrate”
Explanation
Sometimes someone in power might decide to give up that power and step down from his or her position. When they do that, they abdicate their authority, giving up all duties and perks of the job. The original meaning of the verb abdicate came from the combination of the Latin ab- "away" and dicare "proclaim." (Note that in the charming relationships between languages with common roots, the Spanish word for "he says" is dice, which comes directly from dicare.) The word came to refer to disowning one's children, and it wasn't until the 17th century that the first use of the word relating to giving up power or public office was recorded.
Vocabulary lists containing abdicate
The Declaration of Independence
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100 Top "SAT" Words
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You Can Say That Again: Dic and Dict
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“It is not enough to invoke ethics in the abstract; robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility are required,” he wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
In 2006, when a popular uprising forced the king to abdicate, Thapa was already a prominent figure in the pro-democracy movement and had been jailed several times for his role in street protests.
From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026
Yet sometimes miracles happen, and Senates don’t entirely abdicate their constitutional advice and consent roles.
From Slate ● Oct. 4, 2025
But the story that unfolded brought global spotlight on the case, while its complexity put the country's then British rulers in a spot of bother, and eventually forced an Indian king to abdicate.
From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2025
Christina had been forced to abdicate in 1654, having become a Catholic, and was also living in exile in Rome.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
It may serve his interests by distracting and deflecting but abdicates presidential responsibility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2025
There's a lot of speculation over who might take over in her stead as Lakshmi abdicates her throne.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2023
Japan's Emperor Akihito formally abdicates the throne at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo today.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 30, 2019
Where a judge abdicates this role, overaggressive lawyers can take unfair advantage of their adversaries, and I have occasionally seen this happen in some state courts, although almost never in federal court.
From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2017
Louis, weary of regal pomp and constraint, abdicates the throne, and Hortense becomes unendurably weary of her pensive and unambitious spouse.
From Josephine Makers of History by Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
However, in 2014 he abdicated, two years after it had emerged he had been elephant hunting in Botswana with Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, who had been his mistress, during an economic crisis in Spain.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026
Congress has abdicated many roles to the executive branch, but the Senate continues to guard closely its constitutional power of advise and consent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025
Juan Carlos abdicated later in 2014, handing the throne to Felipe.
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2025
Ayad Akhtar’s “McNeal,” which had its premiere last year at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater in a production starring Robert Downey Jr., failed precisely because it abdicated this responsibility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2025
Father told me he has been expecting this to happen ever since June, when Ismail Pasha, the khedive of Egypt, abdicated the throne and his son Mehmet Tewfik Pasha became the new khedive.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
“If that’s true, what would prohibit Congress from just abdicating all responsibility to regulate foreign commerce—for that matter, declare war—to the president?”
From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2025
If the court ruled for Trump in this case, Gorsuch wondered: "What would prohibit Congress from just abdicating all responsibility to regulate foreign commerce?"
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2025
"She is abdicating her duty, and this is something that she needs to decide, not a jury. It's a question of law, not a question of fact."
From Salon ● Apr. 3, 2024
Norway’s 86-year-old King Harald V, who has been hospitalized several times in recent months, has not indicated he’s considering abdicating in favor of his son, Crown Prince Haakon.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 11, 2024
He wanted to lie down in this redolent field, curl up in the green womb in the dazzling aura of these mountains, growing warm and drowsy under the sun, abdicating all responsibilities—and sleep.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
