abdication

noun

ab·​di·​ca·​tion ˌab-di-ˈkā-shən 

plural abdications

: an act of abdicating: such as

a

: an act of giving up sovereign power or high office

The desire of King Edward VIII to marry divorced U.S. socialite Wallis Simpson led to the king's abdication in 1936, an event that also brought Harry, his father Prince Charles and his brother, Prince William, into the line of succession.

—Martha Ross

From the advent of Alexander the Great, in 332 B.C., to the abdication of King Farouk, in 1952, the country was ruled without interruption by non-Egyptians.

—Milton Viorst

b

: an act of abandoning or discarding a right, responsibility, etc.

an abdication of authority

The militants took the liberties of Europe as a sign of moral and political abdication.

—Fouad Ajami

When the majority throws up its hands because the problems are too tough, that's simply an abdication of responsibility.

—Michael S. Serrill

Examples of abdication in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

History will undoubtedly judge this as a shameful abdication of the military's own values of honor, courage, and commitment to all who serve faithfully. —Anna Commander gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025

Its failure to do so is an abdication of its responsibility to its player-members. —Chris Deubert, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025

The battle for the White House has become more ruthless because constitutional powers have concentrated in the presidency by usurpation or congressional abdication while the federal government has grown like bamboo over the past century or more. —Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 1 May 2025

Even the reports of the Orinda bust doubled as both a coronation and premature abdication. —John Semley, Rolling Stone, 19 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1571, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for abdication

• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation
• adaptation