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

• contradict
• deny
• disaffirm
• disallow
• disclaim
• disconfirm
• disown
• gainsay
• negate
• negative
• refute
• reject
• repudiate

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

Listen to this article The New York City Probation Department spent $37,500 last year to hire a public relations consultant in part to write an op-ed that the agency’s commissioner, Juanita Holmes, then oddly disavowed last Friday, the Daily News has learned. —Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 14 Mar. 2025

Though Trump disavowed it during the campaign, many of his administration's actions have closely hewed to its suggestions. —David Folkenflik, NPR, 10 Mar. 2025

Even so, Moleskine hasn’t completely disavowed the digital world and in 2022 created Moleskine Smart, which blends the two. —Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 14 Apr. 2025

Richard Spencer never made it into Trump’s administration, and the president went out of his way to disavow the white nationalist. —Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2025

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