disavow

[ dis-uh-vou ]

/ ˌdɪs əˈvaʊ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR disavow ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to disclaim knowledge of, connection with, or responsibility for; disown; repudiate: He disavowed the remark that had been attributed to him.

Nearby words

disassortative mating, disaster, disaster area, disaster capitalism, disastrous, disavow, disavowal, disband, disbar, disbelief, disbelieve

Origin of disavow

1350–1400; Middle English disavouen, desavouen < Anglo-French, Old French desavouer. See dis-¹, avow

SYNONYMS FOR disavow

deny, reject, disclaim.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR disavow ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsdis·a·vow·ed·ly, adverbdis·a·vow·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for disavow

Nor will the CIA disavow those controversial efforts entirely.
CIA Won’t Defend Its One-Time Torturers|Shane Harris, Tim Mak|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To disavow those moral responsibilities, our tradition suggests, is to not be truly free.
Obama to Israelis: ‘The World Can Change’|Peter Beinart|March 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Rather than today's young women feeling like the heirs to a glorious legacy, they disavow those who came before.
‘The Feminine Mystique’ at 50, Part 2: Three Feminists on What It Means Today|Jessica Bennett, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Alisa Solomon|February 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
There are some pieces of themselves that politicians simply cannot disavow.
Newt Gingrich Targets Romney, Returns to Cage-Fighting Roots|Michelle Cottle|January 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST

He is vulnerable and victimized by an identity he should be able to disavow but cannot.
Great Weekend Reads: 4 New Novels, November 13, 2011|Susan Salter Reynolds, Christopher Byrd, John Wilwol, Jennifer Miller|November 13, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Moreover, it so happened that the Queen had, in her own letter to Heneage, made the same statement which she now chose to disavow.
History of the United Netherlands, 1584-86, Vol. I. (of IV) Complete|John Lothrop Motley
If it was his correctness to ignore, it could never be hers to disavow.
Tales Of Men And Ghosts|Edith Wharton
Whether private persons avow or disavow it, it is a fixed maxim of the Church of Rome.
Americanism Contrasted with Foreignism, Romanism, and Bogus Democracy in the Light of Reason, History, and Scripture;|William Gannaway Brownlow
Mr. Benson, the headmaster, declined to disavow the sentiments of the "Minutes," and was consequently dismissed.
Fletcher of Madeley|Frederic W. Macdonald
I again repeat that I annul and disavow the peace you have made.
The Conspiracy of Pontiac and the Indian War after the Conquest of Canada|Francis Parkman

British Dictionary definitions for disavow

disavow

/ (ˌdɪsəˈvaʊ) /

verb

(tr) to deny knowledge of, connection with, or responsibility for

Derived Formsdisavowal, noundisavowedly, adverbdisavower, noun

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

disavow

verb (used with object)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of disavow

Examples from the Web for disavow

British Dictionary definitions for disavow

disavow

verb