repudiate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
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.
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
“Happy Days,” in a way, was the ’70s using the ’50s to repudiate the ’60s, or at least the divisive aftermath of them that fueled the one-liners in Archie Bunker’s living room.
From New York Times • Jan. 15, 2024
The ability to deny facts or repudiate them, even in the face of clear evidence to the contrary, is a key component of war propaganda, used to make sure the facts remain unclear.
From Salon • Oct. 19, 2023
Burr, true to form, refused to make any promises to deliver New York to the secessionists, but he also would not repudiate the conspiracy.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
