repudiate

verb re·pu·di·ate \ ri-ˈpyü-dē-ˌāt \

Updated on: 17 Apr 2018

Definition of repudiate

repudiated; repudiating

transitive verb

1 a : to refuse to accept; especially : to reject as unauthorized or as having no binding force

repudiate a contract

repudiate a will

b : to reject as untrue or unjust

repudiate a charge

2 : to refuse to acknowledge or pay

repudiate a debt

3 : to refuse to have anything to do with : disown

repudiate a cause

… unless they repudiated the failed policies of the past and took decisive action, the party might fracture or lose its hold on the electorate.
—Walter A. McDougall

4 dated : to divorce or separate formally from (a woman to whom one is betrothed or married)

"The incident was witnessed by … the Marquess Zanipolo, who, in consequence, has already repudiated his unhappy bride."
—Edith Wharton

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repudiator

play \ri-ˈpyü-dē-ˌā-tər\ noun

See repudiate defined for English-language learners

See repudiate defined for kids

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Examples of repudiate in a Sentence

During the Algerian war of independence, the United States had also repudiated France's claimed right to attack a town in neighboring Tunisia that succored Algerian guerrillas … —Christopher Hitchens, Harper's, February 2001
When witnessing abuse, boys will identify with the seemingly powerful father who appears to be a "winner" and will repudiate the mother, who seems to be the "loser." —Constance Adler, Shape, September 1993
While a wife could divorce her husband only for good reason … a husband could repudiate his wife without giving any reason … —Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples, 1991
Voters in Myanmar … appeared today to have sharply repudiated their military rulers and to have given a landslide victory to the main opposition party … —Steven Erlanger, New York Times, 29 May 1990
Photographs, the most ubiquitous emblem of mass culture, found an obvious place in Pop Art, and were embraced by those intent on repudiating the preciosity of action painting. —Naomi Rosenblum, A World History of Photography, 1989
Three weeks after the agreement was made and before any specifications were submitted, the buyer repudiated the agreement. —John D. Calamari and Joseph M. Perillo, The Law of Contracts, 1987
a generation that has repudiated the values of the past
He has publicly repudiated the government's policies.
He published an article that repudiates the study's claims.
She says she has evidence which repudiates the allegations.

Recent Examples of repudiate from the Web

Feeling repudiated and ashamed by this failure to prevent violence, King had to be pressured into returning to Memphis a week later for yet another march, one that a single assassin’s bullet on April 4 assured he would never lead.

— james c. cobb, Smithsonian, "Even Though He Is Revered Today, MLK Was Widely Disliked by the American Public When He Was Killed," 5 Apr. 2018
Most Republicans haven’t come out and repudiated these bills.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Republicans Can’t Understand Why Trump Is Acting Guilty," 19 Mar. 2018
And after Virginia voters repudiated Republicans in state elections in 2017, keeping the governor's mansion in Democratic hands and nearly kicking Republicans out of their state House majority, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R) announced his retirement.

— amber phillips, Washington Post, "A congressional Republican cops to the real reason he’s retiring: Working with Trump isn’t fun," 26 Mar. 2018
It has been repudiated by major mental health organizations as not only ineffective but also psychologically harmful, potentially leading to depression and even suicide.

— kristin e. holmes, Philly.com, "New seminary president's gay-conversion past catches school by surprise," 14 Mar. 2018
Venezuela could repudiate the petro during its next debt crisis.

— timothy b. lee, Ars Technica, "Venezuela says its cryptocurrency raised $735 million—but it’s a farce," 22 Feb. 2018
In 2016, Romney repudiated these positions and others (notably on immigration) and pitched himself as a Tea Party-style conservative.

— alex shephard, New Republic, "Mitt Romney will never stop being owned by Donald Trump.," 20 Feb. 2018
Perhaps the most controversial step taken by Trump’s campaign at the convention concerned how the U.S. should deal with the tense relations between Russia and Ukraine, which repudiated Moscow in a 2014 revolt.

— david willman, The Seattle Times, "Former Trump aide Gates to plead guilty, agrees to testify against Manafort, sources say," 18 Feb. 2018
In recent days, the three carmakers have repudiated the work of the group, which folded last year.

— jack ewing, New York Times, "Volkswagen Suspends Top Lobbyist Amid Inquiry Into Diesel Tests on Monkeys," 30 Jan. 2018

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

Did You Know?

In Latin, the noun "repudium" refers to the rejection of a spouse or prospective spouse, and the related verb repudiare means "to divorce" or "to reject." In the 16th century, English writers used the derivative "repudiate" to mean "to divorce," when in reference to a wife, or "to disown," when in reference to a member of one's family, or just generally "to reject or cast off." By the 19th century the word had also come to be used for the rejection of things that one does not accept as true or just, ranging from opinions and accusations to contracts and debts.

Origin and Etymology of repudiate

Latin repudiatus, past participle of repudiare, from repudium rejection of a prospective spouse, divorce, probably from re- + pudēre to shame

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1545

in the meaning defined at sense 4

See Words from the same year

repudiate Synonyms

Phrases

turn one's back on;

Synonym Discussion of repudiate

decline, refuse, reject, repudiate, spurn mean to turn away by not accepting, receiving, or considering. decline often implies courteous refusal especially of offers or invitations.

- declined his party's nomination

refuse suggests more positiveness or ungraciousness and often implies the denial of something asked for.

- refused to lend them the money

reject implies a peremptory refusal by sending away or discarding.

- rejected the manuscript as unpublishable

repudiate implies a casting off or disowning as untrue, unauthorized, or unworthy of acceptance.

- teenagers who repudiate the values of their parents

spurn stresses contempt or disdain in rejection or repudiation.

- spurned his overtures of friendship

REPUDIATE Defined for English Language Learners

repudiate

verb

Definition of repudiate for English Language Learners

: to refuse to accept or support (something) : to reject (something or someone)
: to say or show that (something) is not true

REPUDIATE Defined for Kids

repudiate

verb re·pu·di·ate \ ri-ˈpyü-dē-ˌāt \

Definition of repudiate for Students

repudiated; repudiating

1 : to refuse to have anything to do with

They repudiated their wayward son.

2 : to refuse to believe or approve of

She repudiated the rumors.

Law Dictionary

repudiate

transitive verb re·pu·di·ate \ ri-ˈpyü-dē-ˌāt \

legal Definition of repudiate

repudiated; repudiating

: to disavow or reject an obligation (as a debt) or duty (as performance under a contract); specifically : to indicate an inability or unwillingness to perform as promised under (a contract)

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