renounce
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
-
(tr) to give up (a claim or right), esp by formal announcement
to renounce a title
-
(tr) to repudiate
to renounce Christianity
-
(tr) to give up (some habit, pursuit, etc) voluntarily
to renounce smoking
-
(intr) cards to fail to follow suit because one has no cards of the suit led
noun
Synonym Usage
See abandon.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of renounce
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English renouncen, from Middle French renoncer, from Latin renūntiāre “to bring back word, disclaim,” equivalent to re- re- + nūntiāre “to announce,” derivative of nūntius “messenger, news”
Explanation
To renounce is to officially give up or turn away from. If you decide to become a vegetarian, you will renounce hamburgers and bacon. The transitive verb renounce is a stronger, more formal way of saying that you reject or disown something. A prince who's tired of the royal life could renounce his title and become a commoner, and a senator who wanted to become an independent would have to renounce her ties to her previous political party. You'd be wise to heed the wisdom of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who said: “To renounce liberty is to renounce being a man, to surrender the rights of humanity and even its duties.”
Vocabulary lists containing renounce
The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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Ender's Game
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Little Women
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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.
Shortly after the pope stopped speaking, an unidentified woman yelled: "Repudiate the doctrine of discovery! Renounce the papal bulls!"
From Reuters • Jul. 25, 2022
“Why Won’t Mandela Renounce Violence?” asked a June 21, 1990, op-ed by congressional aide David G. Sanders.
From Salon • Apr. 1, 2019
There is, they believe, a pathway to freedom: Renounce these contracts or otherwise assert your sovereignty.
From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2019
"Renounce the money and have some principles," he said.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2016
Renounce thy works and ways, with grief, And fly to this divine relief; Nor Him forget, who left His throne, And for thy life gave up His own.
From The Story of the Hymns and Tunes by Brown, Theron
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.
