Definition of ABJURES

Choose the Right Synonym for abjure

abjure, renounce, forswear, recant, retract mean to withdraw one's word or professed belief. abjure implies a firm and final rejecting or abandoning often made under oath. abjured the errors of his former faith renounce may carry the meaning of disclaim or disown. renounced abstract art and turned to portrait painting forswear may add an implication of perjury or betrayal. I cannot forswear my principles recant stresses the withdrawing or denying of something professed or taught. if they recant they will be spared retract applies to the withdrawing of a promise, an offer, or an accusation. the newspaper had to retract the story

Did You Know?

Just as a jury swears to produce an unbiased verdict, and a witness swears to tell the truth on pain of perjury, those who abjure their former ways "swear them away." "Abjure" (as well as "jury" and "perjury") comes from Latin jurare, which means "to swear" (and which in turn is based on the root jus, meaning "law"), plus the prefix ab-, meaning "away." These days, we can casually abjure (that is, abstain from) vices such as smoking or overeating, but in the 15th and 16th centuries to abjure was a matter of renouncing something under oath-and sometimes a matter of life and death. For example, during the Spanish Inquisition, individuals were given the choice between abjuring unacceptable beliefs and being burned at the stake.

Examples of abjure in a Sentence

abjured some long-held beliefs when she converted to another religion a strict religious sect that abjures the luxuries, comforts, and conveniences of the modern world

Recent Examples on the Web Passionately denouncing the inequity of his time, Francis of Assisi abjured his wealth and joined the beggars. — Karen Armstrong, New York Times, "Was Dorothy Day a Saint or a Subversive?," 3 Mar. 2020 On the other hand, the policy exempts parody and satire, which would seem to require precisely the kind of interpretive judgment that the company abjures to the point of outsourcing fact-checking to third parties. — Gilad Edelman, Wired, "Facebook’s Deepfake Ban Is a Solution to a Distant Problem," 7 Jan. 2020 But even in less dire cases, to abjure concern for one’s health — let alone to encourage others to do so — is deeply irresponsible. — Jack Butler, National Review, "Destroying Your Lungs to Own the Libs," 7 Nov. 2019 Article 9 commits Japan to pacifism and to abjuring the maintenance of armed forces—which the existence of the country’s Self-Defence Forces (SDF) clearly breaches. — The Economist, "Can Shinzo Abe change Japan’s basic law?," 10 Aug. 2019 That trenchant rhyme is an outlier among Mr. Cale’s lyrics, which generally abjure technical polish in favor of imagery and emotion. — New York Times, "Review: Surviving a Family From Hell in ‘We’re Only Alive’," 27 June 2019 Riders abjure helmets, and a strict rule that two people may never share one scooter is strictly ignored throughout. — Alan Behr, chicagotribune.com, "When Paris does what it does best," 20 Aug. 2019 Most dramatically, Lara meets an artist unlike the others — a German Dadaist who has abjured silly painterly posturing for serious aesthetic discipline (and sculpture). — Globe Correspondent, BostonGlobe.com, "Guggenheim-inspired ‘Costalegre’ is a smart and sentimental journey into adolescence," 24 July 2019 That did not mean abjuring love as a subject, but rather ennobling it while understanding its limitations. — Jesse Green, New York Times, "A Brief History of Gay Theater, in Three Acts," 26 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'abjure.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.