abjuration

American  

[ab-juh-rey-shuhn] / ˌæb dʒəˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of abjuring.

2. renunciation upon oath.

---

Other Word Forms

• nonabjuration
  noun

Etymology

Origin of abjuration

1505–15; < Medieval Latin abjūrātiōn- (stem of abjūrātiō ); see abjure, -ate ¹, -ion

Explanation

When you've given up your old ideas about something, or retracted a statement you made earlier, you can call it abjuration. Your conservative uncle might be frustrated at the abjuration of your former political opinions, especially if you become a progressive Democrat. Many people experience an abjuration of their religious beliefs, renouncing one faith for another or dropping religion from their lives altogether. When you abjure something, you give it up or renounce it. The Latin root is abiurare, "deny on oath."

Example Sentences

Doubts, however, as to the genuineness of his abjuration again troubled the Kirk.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 8 "Hudson River" to "Hurstmonceaux" by Various

A private auto-da-f� was celebrated in the hall of the tribunal, in which M. Tournon appeared without the san-benito, and signed his abjuration, with a promise never again to attend the assemblies of the freemasons.

From The History of the Inquisition of Spain from the Time of its Establishment to the Reign of Ferdinand VII. by Llorente, Juan Antonio

And certainly, since the great day of the abjuration of King Philip II in the year 1581, the country had not passed through any such violent crisis as it was now facing.

From The Rise of the Dutch Kingdom 1795-1813 by Van Loon, Hendrik Willem

A solemn recantation or renunciation; as, an abjuration of heresy.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah

The obstacle in the way of Huss’s abjuration lay not so much in the heresies which he had taught, as in those which he had not taught.

From A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume II by Lea, Henry Charles