repudiation

noun

re·​pu·​di·​a·​tion ri-ˌpyü-dē-ˈā-shən 

: the act of repudiating : the state of being repudiated

especially : the refusal of public authorities to acknowledge or pay a debt

repudiationist

ri-ˌpyü-dē-ˈā-sh(ə-)nist 

noun

Synonyms

• denial
• rejection

Examples of repudiation in a Sentence

voters seemed satisfied by the candidate's public repudiation of the beliefs of an organization to which he had briefly belonged as a youth

New Year's resolutions typically include the repudiation of chocolate and other indulgences and the promise to resume working out at the gym.

Recent Examples on the Web

And to be fair, most of the departures weren’t a repudiation of Amador’s appointment. —David Lyman, The Enquirer, 7 Aug. 2025

Bennett’s statement appears to be the most sweeping Israeli repudiation of any Mossad-Epstein ties. —Ron Kampeas, Sun Sentinel, 4 Aug. 2025

De Blasio campaigned in part on a repudiation of Bloomberg’s embrace of the city’s moneyed elite. —Leo Schwartz, Fortune, 30 June 2025

The modern cinema isn’t a repudiation of stories but a point of view on them—neither a rejection of them nor an assumption of them but an effort to discover them. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 20 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1530, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for repudiation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration

Legal Definition

repudiation

noun

re·​pu·​di·​a·​tion ri-ˌpyü-dē-ˈā-shən 

: the rejection or renunciation of a duty or obligation (as under a contract)

especially : anticipatory repudiation

Note: A party aggrieved by a repudiation may consider a repudiated contract to have been breached and bring an action for relief.