abdicate

American

[ab-di-keyt] / ˈæb dɪˌkeɪt /

verb (used without object)

abdicated, abdicating

to renounce or relinquish a throne, right, power, claim, responsibility, or the like, especially in a formal manner.

The aging founder of the firm decided to abdicate.

Synonyms:

quit, resign

verb (used with object)

abdicated, abdicating

to give up or renounce (authority, duties, an office, etc.), especially in a voluntary, public, or formal manner.

King Edward VIII of England abdicated the throne in 1936.

Synonyms:

repudiate, abandon

abdicate British

/ ˈæbdɪˌkeɪt, ˈæbdɪkəbəl, æbˈdɪkətɪv /

verb

to renounce (a throne, power, responsibility, rights, etc), esp formally

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

abdicable adjective
abdication noun
abdicative adjective
abdicator noun
nonabdicative adjective
unabdicated adjective
unabdicating adjective
unabdicative adjective

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”

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.

The plan is to invest in “everything our country has outsourced and abdicated over recent decades,” Combs says.

From Barron's

Executives say the looser rules will allow them to compete more in corners of lending they have largely abdicated because of the capital costs, like to riskier companies or private-equity firms striking deals.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

There is something quietly ironic about expecting municipal leaders to serve as democratic guardrails when we have collectively abdicated our own responsibility in even the simplest level of civic participation.

From Salon

Juan Carlos, who abdicated as Spanish king in 2014, hit by scandals, now living in Abu Dhabi, sent an irresistible royal Christmas card.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023