renunciation

[ri-nuhn-see-ey-shuhn, -shee-]

noun

1. an act or instance of relinquishing, abandoning, repudiating, or sacrificing something, as a right, title, person, or ambition.

   the king's renunciation of the throne.

   Synonyms: disavowal, denial, repudiation, abandonment

renunciation

/ rɪˌnʌnsɪˈeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of renouncing

2. a formal declaration renouncing something

3. stock exchange the surrender to another of the rights to buy new shares in a rights issue

Other Word Forms

• renunciative adjective
• renunciatory adjective
• nonrenunciation noun
• unrenunciative adjective
• unrenunciatory adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of renunciation¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin renūnciātiōn- (stem of renūnciātiō ) proclamation, equivalent to renūnciāt ( us ) (past participle of renūntiāre to renounce ) + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of renunciation¹

C14: from Latin renunciātiō a declaration, from renuntiāre to report, _renounce

Example Sentences

But as they were under 21 years, the minimum age for renouncing citizenship in Pakistan, the high commission did not issue their renunciation certificates at the time, they said.

Read more on BBC

Humanity could recover its moral bearings and pursue the abolition of nuclear weapons and the renunciation of war, or accept the inevitability that such man-made forces would ultimately abolish most or all of us.

Read more on Salon

A patchwork of statutes and treaties already offered about two-thirds of Native Americans citizenship, sometimes in exchange for land allotments that fractured reservations, gestures of assimilation, military service and even the renunciation of tribal traditions.

Read more on Seattle Times

This month, Lithuania hosted a conference on resisting economic pressure, and Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said the aim of that action “is to crush the victims by forcing reversal and public renunciation of its policies.”

Read more on Seattle Times

Her devotion to him required renunciation: She let go of her composing ambitions and gave over the majority of her schedule to performing his scores.

Read more on New York Times

Related Words

• disavowal 
• repudiation