repudiate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
repudiates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
repudiated,
past participle, past
-
repudiating
present participle
-
to reject as having no authority or binding force.
to repudiate a claim.
- Antonyms:
- accept
-
to cast off or disown.
to repudiate a son.
-
to reject with disapproval or condemnation.
to repudiate a new doctrine.
- Synonyms:
- disapprove, condemn, disown, renounce
- Antonyms:
- approve
-
to reject with denial.
to repudiate a charge as untrue.
-
to refuse to acknowledge and pay (a debt), as a state, municipality, etc.
verb
-
to reject the authority or validity of; refuse to accept or ratify
Congress repudiated the treaty that the President had negotiated
-
to refuse to acknowledge or pay (a debt)
-
to cast off or disown (a son, lover, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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repudiationnoun
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repudiatornoun
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nonrepudiableadjective
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nonrepudiativeadjective
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repudiableadjective
-
repudiativeadjective
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unrepudiableadjective
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unrepudiatedadjective
-
unrepudiativeadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
repudiatesimple
-
repudiatessimple
-
have repudiatedperfect
-
has repudiatedperfect
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am repudiatingprogressive
-
are repudiatingprogressive
-
is repudiatingprogressive
-
have been repudiatingperfect progressive
-
has been repudiatingperfect progressive
Past
-
repudiatedsimple
-
had repudiatedperfect
-
was repudiatingprogressive
-
were repudiatingprogressive
-
had been repudiatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of repudiate
First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin repudiātus (past participle of repudiāre “to reject, refuse”), equivalent to repudi(um) “a casting off, divorce” ( re- + pud(ere) “to make ashamed, feel shame” + -ium noun suffix ) + -ātus past participle sufffix; see re-, pudendum, -ium, -ate 1
Explanation
To repudiate something is to reject it, or to refuse to accept or support it. If you grow up religious, but repudiate all organized religion as an adult, you might start spending holidays at the movies, or just going to work. This verb usually refers to rejecting something that has authority, such as a legal contract, doctrine, or claim. In connection with debts or other obligations, repudiate is used in the specialized sense "to refuse to recognize or pay." If referring to a child or a romantic parner, repudiate is used in the sense "to disown, cast off." This verb is derived from Latin repudiare, "to put away, divorce."
Vocabulary lists containing repudiate
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
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Grade 10, List 1
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1984
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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:
This signal turns to static if defendants are allowed to repudiate allegations to which they just agreed “without admitting or denying” these very same allegations.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
To repudiate a doctrine accepted by the nation’s cultural arbiters gets you uninvited to their parties and called a fool.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
In response, Allister said: "If Claire is trying to pretend that I am insincere in my condemnation of violence then I utterly repudiate and indeed resent that comment."
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2025
Kavazović and Rosensaft committed to collaborate in times of crisis, maintain consistent and compassionate channels of communication, remember and commemorate the victims of past genocides and repudiate all forms of bigotry.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 27, 2024
To him, Harrison represented the old Chicago of filth, smoke, and vice, everything the fair was designed to repudiate.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Mediaset Espana, which owns the news channel, issued a statement expressing its support for Ms Balado after the "absolutely intolerable situation" she suffered, and that it "categorically repudiates any form of harassment or aggression."
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2023
Mediaset Espana, which owns Cuatro, said it "categorically repudiates any form of harassment or aggression. We fully support Isa Balado, reporter for 'En boca de todos', after the absolutely intolerable situation she has suffered today."
From Reuters ● Sep. 12, 2023
The arbitrator ordered VA Secretary Denis McDonough to issue a notice that repudiates “surface bargaining and bad faith bargaining.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 14, 2023
“The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela repudiates this grave violation of human rights against a Venezuelan citizen, invested as a diplomat and representative of our country before the world,” the statement said.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 16, 2021
Even if the reason repudiates, the imagination retains, the feeling of some more intimate connexion, of some peculiar tie, or mysterious constraint exercised by the antecedent over the consequent.
From A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive 7th Edition, Vol. II by John Stuart Mill
Khamenei’s office later repudiated the comments as divisive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
His approach to international relations also contrasts starkly with neighbouring regimes, who have cultivated close security ties with Russia and repudiated their previous close partnerships with France.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2025
In 2017, Brady’s then-wife, Gisele Bündchen, told CBS’ Charlie Rose that Brady had suffered a concussion in 2016, a trauma that had not been disclosed to the NFL, which repudiated Bündchen’s claims.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2025
That effort was repudiated by a court above.
From Slate ● Jan. 14, 2025
The first two sections of this book were devoted to two different ways that researchers have recently repudiated this perspective.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
So one of the appealing takeaways from the biodoc “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley” is a repudiating of the typical narrative of inescapable fate, instead pursuing the richness of a gifted artist’s ups and downs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2025
The researchers now wanted to know whether these individuals would justify their decision retrospectively by repudiating climate change.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 2, 2024
And Roberts, in particular, has made a point of repudiating the Korematsu decision that approved American detention camps.
From Salon ● Nov. 15, 2023
“All citizens of Mississippi regardless of race, creed, or color are repudiating the criminal acts of these rogue deputies,” the attorneys said.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 3, 2023
In other words, if he did not answer Burr’s challenge, he would be repudiating his well-known convictions, and in so doing, he would lose the respect of those political colleagues on whom his reputation depended.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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