renunciation
Americannoun
noun
-
the act or an instance of renouncing
-
a formal declaration renouncing something
-
stock exchange the surrender to another of the rights to buy new shares in a rights issue
Other Word Forms
- nonrenunciation noun
- renunciative adjective
- renunciatory adjective
- unrenunciative adjective
- unrenunciatory adjective
Etymology
Origin of renunciation
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin renūnciātiōn- (stem of renūnciātiō ) proclamation, equivalent to renūnciāt ( us ) (past participle of renūntiāre to renounce ) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
If you reject something or disown it, you can call this renunciation. Sorry, your renunciation of your membership in the American Association of Retired People will not make you any younger. Use the noun renunciation especially when you mean you have given up your religious or political beliefs or some cause you previously supported. When you drop a political party to become an independent, you mean it to be a renunciation of all the infighting, backstabbing, and finger pointing that have become "politics as usual."
Vocabulary lists containing renunciation
100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
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All Quiet on the Western Front
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The Picture of Dorian Gray
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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.
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.
From Salon • Aug. 14, 2025
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.”
From Seattle Times • May 26, 2024
Often described as Islamic mysticism, Sufism - which her husband says he has been interested in for more than three decades - emphasises the inner search for God and the renunciation of worldly matters.
From BBC • Jan. 31, 2024
“Songs of Surrender” is an act of renunciation, drastically scaling down songs that once strove to shake entire stadiums.
From New York Times • Mar. 17, 2023
It was well for him, with his chivalry and mysticism and all the compensations of the male world, to make the grand renunciation.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
