disavow
Americanverb (used with object)
-
disavows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disavowed,
past participle, past
-
disavowing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disavowsimple
-
disavowssimple
-
have disavowedperfect
-
has disavowedperfect
-
am disavowingprogressive
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are disavowingprogressive
-
is disavowingprogressive
-
have been disavowingperfect progressive
-
has been disavowingperfect progressive
Past
-
disavowedsimple
-
had disavowedperfect
-
was disavowingprogressive
-
were disavowingprogressive
-
had been disavowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disavow
1350–1400; Middle English disavouen, desavouen < Anglo-French, Old French desavouer. See dis- 1, avow
Explanation
To disavow is to deny support for someone or something. You might feel dissed if your biggest donor decides to suddenly disavow you in your run for president. Disavow comes from a combination of the Old French prefix des- meaning "opposite of" and the word avoer meaning to "acknowledge, accept, recognize." When you disavow, you are doing the opposite of acknowledging or accepting. You're rejecting or denying. When you disavow something you've done in the past, you reject or deny what you've done.
Vocabulary lists containing disavow
Change Your Mind
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It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 4–October 10, 2025
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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:
Asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about her Nov. 16, 2020, call to “cancel Thanksgiving,” Hong passed up the chance to disavow the tweet and instead talked about how she cooked a Thanksgiving meal at 16.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026
Despite the heat, El-Sayed refused to disavow Piker.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
The aide later testified that Khan allegedly tried to get her to disavow her allegations by telling her the charges would hurt the Palestinian investigation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
On Tuesday, shortly after Khamenei was named to succeed his father, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned him to disavow continued nuclear work in an exchange with reporters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026
“We were wondering, after the end of An Imperial Affliction—’ “I disavow everything in that putrid novel,” Van Houten said, cutting me off.
From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
Lyrically, Charli disavows cigarettes and writes sincere apologies for her past mistakes.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
But Jones disavows involvement and contends that a former subordinate, Jennifer Abel, and others close to Baldoni cooked up the plan as part of a broader “conspiracy,” which also included starting a rival publicity firm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2024
To be clear, Radan disavows any support for slavery or for any moral argument defending it, arguing for a sharp distinction between those questions and the legal, constitutional argument he advances.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2023
He wouldn’t say whether he now disavows the Oath Keepers, saying he doesn’t have enough information about the group today.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 6, 2022
She must not trade in what she disavows.
From Mr. Britling Sees It Through by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
It disavowed diversity efforts to win the FCC’s blessing but now is facing calls in California to embrace such commitments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
He later defended his comments and said that he had been using hyperbole to make a point, adding that he disavowed racists and that media reports had ignored the context of his comments.
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2026
In both cases the comments were immediately disavowed by the White House.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2025
Mr. Haas has disavowed anything experimental about this music.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2025
He disavowed nothing: he seemed as if he would defy all things.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Nothing here binds a future administration, and courts almost never stop the government from disavowing promises its officials had no authority to make.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
She resists the idea of entirely disavowing the life she led with her ex-husband.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026
Instead of disavowing them, she answered that she wouldn’t post such remarks today because she has “matured.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025
After recently disavowing himself from his leading lady, Audiard used the opportunity to re-embrace Gascón, a moment that was uncomfortably awkward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2025
“Oh, no,” we said, disavowing her entirely, as any sensible person would.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
