recant

American

[ri-kant] / rɪˈkænt /

verb (used with object)

to withdraw or disavow (a statement, opinion, etc.), especially formally; retract.

Synonyms:

deny , rescind , recall , revoke

verb (used without object)

to withdraw or disavow a statement, opinion, etc., especially formally.

recant British

/ ˌriːkænˈteɪʃən, rɪˈkænt /

verb

to repudiate or withdraw (a former belief or statement), esp formally in public

"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

recantation noun
recanter noun
recantingly adverb
unrecanted adjective
unrecanting adjective

Etymology

Origin of recant

1525–35; < Latin recantāre to sing back, sing again, equivalent to re- re- + cantāre, frequentative of canere to sing; chant

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.

Some of the alleged victims recanted earlier statements detailing violence.

From The Wall Street Journal

Baroness Lawrence said: "Any person who expresses views like these and does not recant is an obvious danger to society and must remain in custody."

From BBC

The incident brought public scrutiny to the university’s police department but ended when Perkins recanted the story.

From Los Angeles Times

But in a 2008 interview with a US historian, she recanted the statement, reportedly saying: "That part's not true."

From BBC

Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had valuable and salient Epstein information sitting on her desk, but she later recanted when she was apparently told to do so.

From Salon

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