recant
Americanverb (used with object)
-
recants,
present (3rd person singular)
-
recanted,
past participle, past
-
recanting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
recants,
present (3rd person singular)
-
recanted,
past participle, past
-
recanting
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
recantsimple
-
recantssimple
-
have recantedperfect
-
has recantedperfect
-
am recantingprogressive
-
are recantingprogressive
-
is recantingprogressive
-
have been recantingperfect progressive
-
has been recantingperfect progressive
Past
-
recantedsimple
-
had recantedperfect
-
was recantingprogressive
-
were recantingprogressive
-
had been recantingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of recant
1525–35; < Latin recantāre to sing back, sing again, equivalent to re- re- + cantāre, frequentative of canere to sing; cf. chant
Explanation
If you're someone who speaks before you think, you may need to recant, or take back, that overly honest assessment of your friend's new haircut. Recant comes from two Latin roots: the prefix re-, meaning "back," and the verb cantare, meaning "to sing." It has been suggested that recant was first used when someone reversed a charm, curse, or some other type of magical spell that would have been chanted or sung. Regardless of whether this is true or not, we suggest that you refrain from singing when you need to recant — unless you've been casting nasty spells on people.
Vocabulary lists containing recant
100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Just Mercy
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Lincoln Inaugural Address (March 1861)
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
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 ● Oct. 7, 2025
She said she decided to take responsibility for her lies in the Cox matter, and hired an attorney to formally recant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2024
She withdrew the allegation later, but Trump's biographer points out that her alimony payments were likely in danger if she did not recant.
From Salon ● May 1, 2023
According to a lawsuit Floyd Bledsoe filed in 2016, Jefferson County authorities persuaded Tom Bledsoe to recant his confession and “framed” his brother by hiding evidence of his innocence.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2023
Editorials would demand that he either recant or retire from public life.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
“It recants some of the language in their letter, which I never adopted.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 29, 2022
Faced with doubting, undermining and hounding, Marie recants her story, but the narrative only gets more complicated from there.
From New York Times ● Sep. 1, 2019
As soon as the detectives leave, and Dassey is able to speak to his mother alone, he promptly recants, telling her he only confessed because the officers got inside his head.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 28, 2018
In the recording, the victim recants his accusations and blamed the issue on his parents.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2017
Sometimes though, for the women, they’re for a nun who recants.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
When war was declared, David recanted his previously strong pro-German views and toed a patriotic line.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
Capitalwatch fully recanted its report alleging AppLovin served as a “laundering machine.”
From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026
Three days later, he recanted that confession and spent the rest of his life professing his innocence, claiming that he was made a patsy for the real assassin, a man he called “Raoul.”
From Slate ● Dec. 1, 2025
But in a 2008 interview with a US historian, she recanted the statement, reportedly saying: "That part's not true."
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2025
After the sentencing, however, Ray recanted his guilty plea.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
“DNA evidence, witnesses recanting their prior statements and polygraph testing all supported the ‘actual innocence’ claims of Jarvis Ballard,” district attorney Perry Nicosia wrote.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
Mandelson's comments go further than others in government in recanting previous criticism of Trump.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2025
That information, the recanting, was initially hidden from Glossip, and he only found out about it a few years ago.
From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2024
Smithline had time to refile her complaint, but instead turned on Wood a month later, recanting her allegations and accusing the actor and others of manipulating her into making false accusations against Manson.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2023
Owning, disowning, recanting, recharting a hateful course of events to make sense of her complicity.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
