renege

[ri-nig, -neg, -neeg]

verb (used without object), re·neged, re·neg·ing.

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), re·neged, re·neg·ing.

Archaic. to deny; disown; renounce.

noun

Cards. an act or instance of reneging.

Origin of renege

1540–50; earlier renegue < Medieval Latin renegāre, equivalent to re- re- + negāre to deny (cf. negative)

Related formsre·neg·er, noun

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

Related Words for reneging

default, reverse, welsh

Examples from the Web for reneging

Contemporary Examples of reneging

The men were accused of reneging on pledges to stop working for the Iraqi government.
ISIS’s Futile Quest to Go Legit
Jamie Dettmer
January 5, 2015
Speaker John Boehner is open about the possibility of reneging.
Michael Tomasky on GOP Plans to Sink the Economy
Michael Tomasky
March 13, 2012
He later accused President Bush of reneging on “compassionate conservatism” and manipulating Christian voters.
I Survived the Bush Presidency
The Daily Beast
January 8, 2009

British Dictionary definitions for reneging

renege

renegue

verb

(intr often foll by on) to go back (on one's promise, etc)

verb, noun

cards other words for revoke

Derived Formsreneger or reneguer, noun

Word Origin for renege

C16 (in the sense: to deny, renounce): from Medieval Latin renegāre to renounce; see renegade

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

Word Origin and History for reneging

renege

1540s, "deny, renounce, abandon," from Medieval Latin renegare, from Latin re-, here probably an intensive prefix, + negare "deny" (see deny). Meaning "change one's mind" is from 1784. Related: Reneged; reneging.