repudiate

verb

re·pu·di·ate ri-ˈpyü-dē-ˌāt

repudiated; repudiating

Synonyms of repudiate next

transitive verb

: to refuse to accept

especially : to reject as unauthorized or as having no binding force

repudiate a contract

repudiate a will

: to reject as untrue or unjust

repudiate a charge

: to refuse to acknowledge or pay

repudiate a debt

: 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

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

repudiator

ri-ˈpyü-dē-ˌā-tər

noun

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 speakers borrowed repudiare to create the English verb repudiate, which they used as a synonym of divorce when in reference to a wife and as a synonym of disown when in reference to a member of one's family. They also used the word more generally in the sense of "to reject or cast off." By the 18th century repudiate 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.

Choose the Right Synonym for 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

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. See More

Recent Examples on the Web The deputy’s plan to dollarize the economy was repudiated by both major coalitions. —

Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes, 13 Aug. 2023 In 2022, the Opera demanded that Netrebko repudiate Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. —

Mikhail Klimentov, Washington Post, 4 Aug. 2023 Founded by playwright Abdias Nascimento in 1944, the theater company repudiated caricatural and unidimensional representations of the Black experience in the performing arts. —

Beatriz Miranda, refinery29.com, 17 Aug. 2023 While Xi hasn’t tried to erase or repudiate Deng, the late leader’s supporters have been sensitive to any revisionist attempts to dilute his legacy. —

Time, 16 June 2023 The Opera demanded last year that Netrebko — a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin before the war who has since distanced herself from the leader — repudiate Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. —

Beatriz Ríos, Washington Post, 5 Aug. 2023 The scientific community should repudiate the authors of the paper. —

The Editors, National Review, 1 Aug. 2023 Milton Friedman is passé today, repudiated by the likes of the US Business Roundtable and its powerful CEO members such as BlackRock’s Larry Fink. —

Tilak Doshi, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2023 The conservative consensus kept winning in practice, even as it was repudiated in theory. —

Matthew Continetti, National Review, 22 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'repudiate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1545, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Time Traveler

The first known use of repudiate was in 1545

See more words from the same year