renege
Americanverb (used without object)
-
reneges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reneged,
past participle, past
-
reneging
present participle
-
Cards. to play a card that is not of the suit led when one can follow suit; break a rule of play.
-
to go back on one's word.
He has reneged on his promise.
verb (used with object)
-
reneges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reneged,
past participle, past
-
reneging
present participle
noun
verb
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
renegesimple
-
renegessimple
-
have renegedperfect
-
has renegedperfect
-
am renegingprogressive
-
are renegingprogressive
-
is renegingprogressive
-
have been renegingperfect progressive
-
has been renegingperfect progressive
Past
-
renegedsimple
-
had renegedperfect
-
was renegingprogressive
-
were renegingprogressive
-
had been renegingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of renege
1540–50; earlier renegue < Medieval Latin renegāre, equivalent to re- re- + negāre to deny ( cf. negative)
Explanation
To renege is to go back on your word or fail to keep a promise. Not quite lying, reneging is more a sin of omission — failing to do what you said you would. The Latin negāre means "to deny," so by reneging on your word, you are denying someone whatever you promised them. In card games, you are said to renege if you play against the rules. To renege may be wrong, but it's not necessarily a punishable offense (unless you put that promise legally binding in writing). Still, it certainly doesn't make you look good!
Vocabulary lists containing renege
Spinnin' Around
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Beowulf
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
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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.
See Examples For:
To reach a compromise with member states, parliament is under pressure to renege on several amendments it added to the text in March which the Americans consider unacceptable.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
“If they renege on their promises,” he added, “they will face dire consequences.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
Watson claims the PGA Tour has "made a decision to renege" on what they promised to those who stayed loyal.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026
But the optimism deflated significantly in recent weeks, as questions arose about whether Oracle’s customers could renege on these contracts and leave it holding the bag for billions in underutilized infrastructure.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 9, 2025
She’d thought that, at the last minute, Papa would have second thoughts and renege on the deposit.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
This wish is granted, but Salieri reneges on his end of the deal after losing faith in the Almighty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026
However, if a company that signed on reneges on its vow, it would face grave consequences in the court of public opinion, said Cueni.
From Reuters ● Jul. 19, 2022
He also agrees to things and then reneges, and when confronted about it, he spins stories.
From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2021
Her story of a woman seeking a new bridegroom after her fiancé reneges is one of several follow-up efforts from rising directors.
From New York Times ● Aug. 31, 2016
“His captain's heart Which in the scuffles of great fights hath burst The buckles on his breast, reneges all temper.”
From Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
However, SpaceX’s capacity to fund that capital spending largely relies on compute deals with firms like Anthropic and Google that can be reneged on with a few months’ notice, according to regulatory filings.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
In February 2024, he sued OpenAI and its boss Sam Altman, saying the firm he helped found had reneged on its non-profit, open source origins by hitching its wagon to Microsoft.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
Cipriani said Shell reneged on a purported promise to make “Star Serenade,” an English-language version of a Spanish-language music reality series Cipriani and his wife created that airs on the Roku Channel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
The lawsuit also claimed Shvo reneged on a promise to invest $100 million in a series of Core Club outposts in cities like Milan and San Francisco in exchange for a 50% ownership stake.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026
What if, after he told her, she reneged on their deal?
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
Still, unthinkable now is Denmark reneging on its promises, including an independence referendum whenever Greenlanders want one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
Prosecutors responded to Puig reneging on the plea agreement by charging him with one count of obstruction of justice and two counts of making false statements to federal officials.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2026
Then again, any promise made by the U.S. or Venezuela is “subject to reneging by subsequent administrations.”
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 7, 2026
"That means reneging on an international commitment that they've made which isn't acceptable," he added.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2025
But another part of my heart can’t forgive them for reneging on their promise.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
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.
