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 of renege

• 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

Notably, the suit doesn’t come from an artist questioning the model, but rather a consumer who alleges Discovery Mode reneges on representations from Spotify that her recommendations will be based around her individualized tastes. —Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2025

But there are political realities at play too, because reneging on deals could affect other foreign policy or economic priorities. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 3 Nov. 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. —Ben Smith, semafor.com, 31 Oct. 2025

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

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