repudiate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to reject as having no authority or binding force.
to repudiate a claim.
- Antonyms:
- accept
-
to cast off or disown.
to repudiate a son.
-
to reject with disapproval or condemnation.
to repudiate a new doctrine.
- Synonyms:
- disapprove, condemn, disown, renounce
- Antonyms:
- approve
-
to reject with denial.
to repudiate a charge as untrue.
-
to refuse to acknowledge and pay (a debt), as a state, municipality, etc.
verb
-
to reject the authority or validity of; refuse to accept or ratify
Congress repudiated the treaty that the President had negotiated
-
to refuse to acknowledge or pay (a debt)
-
to cast off or disown (a son, lover, etc)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of repudiate
First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin repudiātus (past participle of repudiāre “to reject, refuse”), equivalent to repudi(um) “a casting off, divorce” ( re- + pud(ere) “to make ashamed, feel shame” + -ium noun suffix ) + -ātus past participle sufffix; see re-, pudendum, -ium, -ate 1
Explanation
To repudiate something is to reject it, or to refuse to accept or support it. If you grow up religious, but repudiate all organized religion as an adult, you might start spending holidays at the movies, or just going to work. This verb usually refers to rejecting something that has authority, such as a legal contract, doctrine, or claim. In connection with debts or other obligations, repudiate is used in the specialized sense "to refuse to recognize or pay." If referring to a child or a romantic parner, repudiate is used in the sense "to disown, cast off." This verb is derived from Latin repudiare, "to put away, divorce."
Vocabulary lists containing repudiate
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
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Grade 10, List 1
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1984
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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.
Shortly after the pope stopped speaking, an unidentified woman yelled: "Repudiate the doctrine of discovery! Renounce the papal bulls!"
From Reuters • Jul. 25, 2022
Repudiate the past Accepting the offence caused in the past is a start, and Davidson has suggested he has regrets about characters like Chalky White, with his fake Jamaican accent.
From BBC • Feb. 25, 2011
It could almost be the title for an Allen Drury novel: Apologize and Repudiate.
From Time Magazine Archive
Repudiate your dear old daddy—in the face, mind you, of his tender supplications.
From What Maisie Knew by James, Henry
And when, ah, when the bonds fall due, how passing wroth will wax the state From Nebo's mount to Nazareth will spread the cry "Repudiate"!
From Songs and Other Verse by Field, Eugene
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.
