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
- nonrepudiable adjective
- nonrepudiative adjective
- repudiable adjective
- repudiation noun
- repudiative adjective
- repudiator noun
- unrepudiable adjective
- unrepudiated adjective
- unrepudiative adjective
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; re-, pudendum, -ium, -ate 1
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.
He didn’t repudiate his warnings when they failed to pan out, yet didn’t lose his popularity or prestige.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 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
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
This left me no course but to regret that I had been “betrayed into a warmth which,” and on the whole to repudiate, as untenable, the idea that I was to be found anywhere.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
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.
