disclaim
Americanverb (used with object)
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to deny or repudiate interest in or connection with; disavow; disown.
disclaiming all participation.
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Law. to renounce a claim or right to.
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to reject the claims or authority of.
verb (used without object)
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Law. to renounce or repudiate a legal claim or right.
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Obsolete. to disavow interest.
verb
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(tr) to deny or renounce (any claim, connection, etc)
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(tr) to deny the validity or authority of
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law to renounce or repudiate (a legal claim or right)
Usage
What does disclaim mean? Disclaim most generally means to deny any involvement or interest in something—to disavow or disown.It’s often used in a legal context to reject responsibility for something or to renounce a claim or the rights to something.The noun form of disclaim is disclaimer, which refers to a statement or document intended to limit the responsibility or legal liability of a company, organization, or person. Disclaimers typically claim that the party issuing the disclaimer is NOT responsible for certain risks or is NOT affiliated with certain other parties—they make as many statements as they can to disclaim any responsibility.Example: It says right here that the parties to this contract disclaim any responsibility for lost revenue resulting from the agreement.
Other Word Forms
- disclamation noun
- undisclaimed adjective
Etymology
Origin of disclaim
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Anglo-French disclaimer, desclamer. See dis- 1, claim
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.
Put bluntly, beneficiaries, as you say, can disclaim an inheritance, but leaving it in the trust delays the problem.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026
“As a result, we have made the difficult decision to disclaim interest in this unit. While we had hoped to avoid this outcome, today’s action begins the process of granting Council 118’s request.”
From Washington Times • Aug. 11, 2022
"We wish to disclaim that there was an attack of any sort on the residence of Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah," it said.
From BBC • May 15, 2022
The more I tried to disclaim the credit, the more the law school thought I was a modest hero.
From Slate • Feb. 16, 2022
The juvenile population in America increased from 1994 to 2000, but the juvenile crime rate declined, leading academics who had originally supported the “super-predator” theory to disclaim it.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
