disown
verb (used with object)
to refuse to acknowledge as belonging or pertaining to oneself; deny the ownership of or responsibility for; repudiate; renounce.
disowned
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past participleof disown.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof disown.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
disownverb (used with object)to refuse to acknowledge as belonging or pertaining to oneself; deny the ownership of or responsibility for; repudiate; renounce.
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.
“Wagner went from a powerful special-forces group to a disowned network which seems to be falling into organized crime,” said Lou Osborn, an investigator with the Switzerland-based nonprofit Inpact, which tracks Wagner’s activities in Africa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
These IPP sentences were introduced for prisoners convicted of serious sexual or violent offences by Lord Blunkett when he was home secretary, and he has long since disowned them.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Dagwood Bumstead was the scion of a rich family that disowned him when he married Blondie, a flapper — forcing him to take an office job under the irascible J.C.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2025
In her memoir, Erivo writes at length about her estrangement from her father, who disowned her when she was 16 after an argument in a London train station.
From Salon ● Nov. 18, 2025
They were, according to the book, disowned by their families, snubbed by their friends and ostracized from every society.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
