Synonym Chooser

How is the word renounce distinct from other similar verbs?

The words abdicate and resign are common synonyms of renounce. While all three words mean "to give up a position with no possibility of resuming it," renounce may replace it but often implies additionally a sacrifice for a greater end.

renounced her inheritance by marrying a commoner

When could abdicate be used to replace renounce?

Although the words abdicate and renounce have much in common, abdicate implies a giving up of sovereign power or sometimes an evading of responsibility such as that of a parent.

abdicated the throne

When is it sensible to use resign instead of renounce?

While in some cases nearly identical to renounce, resign applies to the giving up of an unexpired office or trust.

resigned from the board

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of renounce Using simple yet incandescent prose, Paine renounced, repudiated and ridiculed at a clip seldom witnessed in print before or since. Matthew Redmond, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2025 The term describes the conscious decision to avoid or renounce managerial roles in order to preserve mental health, maintain balance and prioritize meaningful work. Jose Luis Gonzalez Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025 Advertisement Lee also renounced any concept of gender roles, longing for full social equality regardless of gender or race. Barry Levitt, Time, 10 Sep. 2025 Beijing views Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring Taipei under its control. Jan Camenzind Broomby, NPR, 5 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for renounce
Recent Examples of Synonyms for renounce
Verb
  • Bring the Paine The only thing Paine liked less than monarchical rule was its enablers, anyone who relinquished their freedom willingly to an aspiring tyrant.
    Matthew Redmond, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2025
  • The park’s quiet debut brings to fruition what was envisioned in October 2021, when the city of San Diego relinquished its rights to lease the block from IQHQ and instead entered into a contractual arrangement with the company for a 96-year term.
    Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • White’s legal team challenged it, and in late 2022 an appeals court ruled that the judge had erred in not letting White withdraw his guilty plea.
    Eren Orbey, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
  • In January, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger also withdrew from West African regional bloc Ecowas, having earlier formed their own Alliance of Sahel States grouping.
    Preeti Jha, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Osborne resigned from the board in August to move out of state.
    Edward McKinnon, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Spitzer later resigned, and his wife divorced him the following year.
    Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 15 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • At the gubernatorial debate, Spanberger repeated her condemnation of the messages but refused to retract her endorsement of Jones, saying Jones is running his own race and voters should decide what to do with the information.
    Margaret Barthel, NPR, 16 Oct. 2025
  • The grounds crews can work on the grass sections in tight quarters underneath the concourses and get grow lamps on them even when they’re retracted.
    Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 13 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Will Hamas abdicate any role in the future governance of Palestinians?
    Brittney Melton, NPR, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Trump’s plan calls for Hamas to lay down its arms, leave the Gaza Strip and abdicate any role in a future government in Gaza.
    Laura Kelly, The Hill, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Upon the basis of these findings, Congress declares that the constitutional right of citizens to vote is denied or abridged in some areas by the requirement of the payment of a poll tax as a precondition to voting.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 17 Oct. 2025
  • The administration says the white South African farmers face discrimination and violence in South Africa, which the country’s government denies.
    Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Renounce.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/renounce. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.

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