recant
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of recant
1525–35; < Latin recantāre to sing back, sing again, equivalent to re- re- + cantāre, frequentative of canere to sing; cf. chant
Explanation
If you're someone who speaks before you think, you may need to recant, or take back, that overly honest assessment of your friend's new haircut. Recant comes from two Latin roots: the prefix re-, meaning "back," and the verb cantare, meaning "to sing." It has been suggested that recant was first used when someone reversed a charm, curse, or some other type of magical spell that would have been chanted or sung. Regardless of whether this is true or not, we suggest that you refrain from singing when you need to recant — unless you've been casting nasty spells on people.
Vocabulary lists containing recant
100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
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Lincoln Inaugural Address (March 1861)
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Just Mercy
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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.
Will Recant, chair of the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief, will discuss the coalition’s programs to assist Syrian refugees.
From Washington Post • May 5, 2017
The Innocence Project accused Jackson of hiding a handwritten letter written by Webb in 2000 that was titled “Motion to Recant Testimony.”
From The Guardian • Aug. 4, 2014
The Innocence Project accused Jackson of hiding a handwritten letter written by Webb in 2000 that was titled "Motion to Recant Testimony."
From Seattle Times • Aug. 4, 2014
Mr. Levine did not immediately give the apology Judge Recant was requesting, and she sentenced him to 10 days in jail, though the sentence was later overturned.
From New York Times • Mar. 25, 2011
The monks and friars of the different monasteries, who were all there assembled around, took up the word, and bitterly taunting him, cried likewise, "Recant, recant and save thyself!"
From Ringan Gilhaize or The Covenanters by Galt, John
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.
