abjure
Americanverb (used with object)
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to renounce, repudiate, or retract, especially with formal solemnity; recant.
to abjure one's errors.
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to renounce or give up under oath; forswear.
to abjure allegiance.
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to avoid or shun.
verb
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to renounce or retract, esp formally, solemnly, or under oath
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to abstain from or reject
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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abjurationnoun
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unabjuredadjective
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unabjuratoryadjective
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nonabjuratoryadjective
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abjurernoun
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abjuratoryadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have abjuredperfect
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has abjuredperfect 3rd person singular
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are abjuringprogressive
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is abjuringprogressive 3rd person singular
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am abjuringprogressive 1st person singular
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has been abjuringperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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abjuressingular 3rd person
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have been abjuringperfect progressive
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abjuringparticiple
Past
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had abjuredperfect
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was abjuringprogressive singular
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had been abjuringperfect progressive
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abjuredparticiple
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were abjuringprogressive plural
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abjuredsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of abjure
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin abjūrāre to deny on oath, equivalent to ab- ab- + jūrāre to swear; see jury 1
Explanation
Abjure means to swear off, and it applies to something you once believed. You can abjure a religious faith, you can abjure your love of another person, and you can abjure the practice of using excessive force in interrogation. Abjure is a more dramatic way to declare your rejection of something you once felt or believed. When you see its Latin roots, it makes sense: from ab- (meaning "away") and jurare ("to swear"). When you abjure something, you swear it away and dissociate yourself with it. You might abjure the field of astrology after receiving a bad fortune, or you might abjure marriage after a bitter divorce.
Vocabulary lists containing abjure
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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.
