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”

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