renege

verb

re·​nege ri-ˈneg 

 also  -ˈnāg,

-ˈnig;

rē- 

reneged; reneging

intransitive verb

1

: to go back on a promise or commitment

2

: revoke

3

obsolete : to make a denial

transitive verb

: deny, renounce

reneger noun

Synonyms

• withdraw
• recall
• back out
• back down
• retract

Examples of renege in a Sentence

They had promised to pay her tuition but later reneged.

my so-called best friend promised to help me move, only to renege come Saturday morning

Recent Examples on the Web

Merit filed for Chapter 11 in July, amid financial problems and alleging that TBN had reneged on more than $100 million of financial responsibilities. —Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025

Tuesday’s announcement comes after Israel accused Hamas of violating the truce by firing on Israeli forces in Rafah and reneging on promises to return missing hostage remains. —Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 29 Oct. 2025

In the seven-page lawsuit, Giles also accuses Cole of reneging on other promises related to the collaboration. —Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2025

So is Trump’s decision to renege on Tomahawks for Ukraine and swing back to Putin’s way of thinking. —Luke McGee, Time, 21 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin renegare

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for renege

• big
• brig
• brigg
• dig
• fig
• gig
• jig
• mig
• pig
• prig
• rig
• sprig

Kids Definition

renege

verb

re·​nege ri-ˈnig  -ˈneg 

-ˈnēg,

-ˈnāg

reneged; reneging

1

: deny

2

: to go back on a promise or agreement

reneged on paying the debt

reneger noun