disavowal
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of disavowal
Explanation
A disavowal is a strong denial of any knowledge about something. You might use it to get across the point that you have no idea how that window got broken. Disavowal contains the word avow, which you can use to mean "declare openly"; it's kind of the positive version of the negative disavowal. While an avowal essentially says, "yes indeed!" a disavowal is not only saying, "no," but is also implying, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Vocabulary lists containing disavowal
A Thousand Splendid Suns
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When the Moon Was Ours
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Hanged!
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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.
It is literature about a disavowal of literature: an illusion of a book that cannot be written.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
“It’s been sad to see the disavowal of every policy position he ever stood for,” says a former senior White House official from the first term who worked with Hassett.
From Barron's ● Dec. 11, 2025
Even with ACEP’s disavowal, courts may be reluctant to reopen resolved cases, said Jim Davy, a civil rights lawyer in Philadelphia.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 16, 2023
“Whatever,” Trone scoffs when I point out Parrott’s disavowal.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 2, 2022
He proved good as his word when a rawboned major from Minnesota curled his lip in rebellious disavowal and demanded his share of the syndicate Milo kept saying everybody owned.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
