disavow

verb

dis·​avow ˌdis-ə-ˈvau̇ 

disavowed; disavowing; disavows

transitive verb

1

: to deny responsibility for : repudiate

disavowed the actions of his subordinates

2

: to refuse to acknowledge or accept : disclaim

party leaders disavowed him

… have publicly disavowed any claim on the Graceland estate.

—Dan Chu

disavowable

ˌdis-ə-ˈvau̇-ə-bəl 

adjective

disavowal

ˌdis-ə-ˈvau̇(-ə)l 

noun

Did you know?

When is a vow not a vow? When it has been disavowed, for one. Let’s say you make a solemn pledge to eat green vegetables every day of the week and twice on Sundays. If a few months down the cruciferous road you decide such a diet is for the rabbits, you might disavow (that is, repudiate or deny responsibility for) your earlier vow. Or perhaps you stick to it, going so far as to eat nothing but brassicas 24/7. Well, in that case, your local chapter of the Carnivore’s Club might illustrate another meaning of disavow by disavowing you (refusing to acknowledge or accept you) as a member any longer. Now when is a vow not avow? You might be surprised to learn that vow and avow/disavow are not related. Though all three words came to English from Latin via Anglo-French, they have distinct roots: vow comes from the Latin verb vovēre, meaning “to vow,” while avow and disavow trace back to the verb advocare, meaning “to summon.” We stand by it: there’s no denying that disavow has history.

Synonyms of disavow

• deny
• refute
• reject

Examples of disavow in a Sentence

He disavowed the actions of his subordinates.

She now seems to be trying to disavow her earlier statements.

Recent Examples on the Web

Putin’s Kiss ⁠— that portrays her as Kremlin youth icon turned aspiring Western liberal who came to publicly disavow the Russian president. —Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2026

Pins disavowing the Iranian regime’s crackdown on protesters (that featured the outline of Iran with a ribbon) were passed out to attendees of the Academy Awards luncheon in February, and could possibly appear on the Oscars carpet. —Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 5 Mar. 2026

Eight women accused Landis in a report in The Daily Beast that led to him being dropped by his management company, to being disavowed by one of his film’s directors, and to another project falling apart. —Brian Welk, IndieWire, 27 Feb. 2026

The singer for the latter band, Liam Gallagher, disavowed the Rock Hall when his band was previously twice nominated, but the nominating committee did not hold his recalcitrance against him this year. —Chris Willman, Variety, 25 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English desavowen, from Anglo-French desavouer, from des- dis- + avouer to avow

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for disavow

• anyhow
• carabao
• disallow
• allow
• avow
• basedow
• chiao
• endow
• eyebrow
• highbrow
• lanao
• meow

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Kids Definition

disavow

verb

dis·​avow ˌdis-ə-ˈvau̇ 

: to deny having, knowing, or being responsible for

will disavow any knowledge of your activities

disavowal

-ˈvau̇(-ə)l 

noun