disclaimer
Americannoun
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the act of disclaiming; the renouncing, repudiating, or denying of a claim; disavowal.
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a person who disclaims.
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a statement, document, or assertion that disclaims responsibility, affiliation, etc.; disavowal; denial.
noun
Usage
What does disclaimer mean? A disclaimer is 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 deny responsibility. Example: The disclaimer at the bottom of the page says that this information should be used for entertainment purposes only.
Etymology
Origin of disclaimer
1400–50; late Middle English < Anglo-French: to disclaim
Compare meaning
How does disclaimer compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A disclaimer is a statement that rejects a legal claim. If you're speaking on Russian history and don't want to be quoted, offer a disclaimer that all your information comes from Wikipedia and you're not responsible for its accuracy. A claim is the assertion that you have a right to something, so a disclaimer is the opposite: the rejection of a claim. If you don't want to keep the money you're inheriting, you can file a disclaimer and pass all the money on to a charity. Although disclaimer comes from talking about legal claims, we also use it in general to mean "denial" or "repudiation."
Vocabulary lists containing disclaimer
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
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Speech and Debate
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Born a Crime
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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.
For federal law, the deadline to do a disclaimer is nine months after death.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
And yes, it was amusing to ask ChatGPT questions for this column, but the disclaimer about it often being wrong is real.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
A caption said the images has been created with AI as an "artistic recreation", but many fans missed the disclaimer.
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
Is there a specific timeframe in which a disclaimer must be filed for a timeshare?
From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026
Their children are taught the history of the Empire with a kind of disclaimer hanging over the whole thing.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
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.
