recant

[ ri-kant ]

/ rɪˈkænt /

verb (used with object)

to withdraw or disavow (a statement, opinion, etc.), especially formally; retract.

verb (used without object)

to withdraw or disavow a statement, opinion, etc., especially formally.

Nearby words

recalesce, recalescence, recall, recamier, recanalization, recant, recantation, recap, recapitalization, recapitalize, recapitulate

Origin of recant

1525–35; < Latin recantāre to sing back, sing again, equivalent to re- re- + cantāre, frequentative of canere to sing; cf. chant

SYNONYMS FOR recant

1 revoke, recall, rescind, deny.

Related forms

re·can·ta·tion

[ree-kan-tey-shuhn] /ˌri kænˈteɪ ʃən/, nounre·cant·er, nounre·cant·ing·ly, adverbun·re·cant·ed, adjective

un·re·cant·ing, adjective

Can be confused

recant recount

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

Examples from the Web for recanted

It was the second time he recanted on campaign-finance reforms.
‘Oops,’ First Debate, ‘47 Percent’ & More 2012 Election Turning Points|Mark McKinnon|November 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Nearly 10 years after her accusation of rape sent her father to prison, Casandra Kennedy recanted.
Casandra Kennedy Recants Rape Charge Against Her Father, Freed After 9 Years|Winston Ross|April 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Days later, he fired his lawyer, Percy Foreman and recanted, saying that a mysterious man named Raoul set him up.
Did the Klan Kill MLK? A New Book Argues Wide Conspiracy|R.M. Schneiderman|April 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
This is the second time Obama has recanted on campaign-finance reforms.
Obama’s Super PAC Hypocrisy: Giving Blessing to Priorities USA Action|Mark McKinnon|February 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Some of the above have recanted their early support of the war.
Liberals Sold the Iraq War|Michael Moore|September 15, 2010|DAILY BEAST
He remained a Sinn Feiner, if my memory is accurate, for about a week, and then recanted.
Sinn Fein|P. S. O'Hegarty
Had she kept still, he might have gone on; but she flung up her head with a glad cry and with a beaming face, and Hoyt recanted.
The Mark of Cain|Carolyn Wells
The Senate has revoked that bill; has retracted, recanted, and sung its palinode over that unfortunate conception.
Thirty Years' View (Vol. I of 2)|Thomas Hart Benton
If he recanted, he was absolved; if he persisted, he was at worst excommunicated.
Short Studies on Great Subjects|James Anthony Froude
He was tried, and recanted, while his writings were ordered to be burned.
A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume III|Henry Charles Lea

British Dictionary definitions for recanted

recant

/ (rɪˈkænt) /

verb

to repudiate or withdraw (a former belief or statement), esp formally in public

Derived Forms

recantation (ˌriːkænˈteɪʃən), nounrecanter, noun

Word Origin for recant

C16: from Latin recantāre to sing again, from re- + cantāre to sing; see chant

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