as in denial
a refusal to confirm the truth of a statement
the mayor's disavowal of the rumor that a terrorist threat had been received put our minds at rest
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Recent Examples of disavowal
Part of what fascinated me about their presentation was not only their refusal to kowtow to male desire, which for decades had a stranglehold on rock aesthetics, but a concomitant disavowal of commercialism.
—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
Pelicot is troubled by her children’s immediate disavowal of their father, of their entire childhood.
—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
20 Feb. 2026
But with Rourke’s strong disavowal, Hines also wanted to assure fans that there was nothing shady about the GoFundMe.
—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
6 Jan. 2026
The 2025 version manages just eight mentions, including a sharp disavowal.
—
Newsweek Editors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Dec. 2025
Mamdani initially tried to stay on-message, offering a quick disavowal of an unsavory association or controversial past statement and pivoting back his agenda.
—
Ben Adler,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
The post marks a significant shift from the President’s past disavowals of the unpopular right-wing policy blueprint, which was created by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation ahead of the 2024 election.
—
Connor Greene,
Time,
3 Oct. 2025
Anderson saw something in the artist formerly known as Marky Mark, who’d only made the transition from musical artist to actor three years earlier, that Wahlberg still doesn’t see in himself, if his disavowal of the movie is any indication.
—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
But the new wave of disavowals represents the latest sign that the conflict, which has killed thousands of Palestinians, has become polarizing within the mainstream of the party.
—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
Pelicot is troubled by her children’s immediate disavowal of their father, of their entire childhood.
—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
20 Feb. 2026
But with Rourke’s strong disavowal, Hines also wanted to assure fans that there was nothing shady about the GoFundMe.
—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
6 Jan. 2026
The 2025 version manages just eight mentions, including a sharp disavowal.
—
Newsweek Editors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Dec. 2025
Mamdani initially tried to stay on-message, offering a quick disavowal of an unsavory association or controversial past statement and pivoting back his agenda.
—
Ben Adler,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
The post marks a significant shift from the President’s past disavowals of the unpopular right-wing policy blueprint, which was created by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation ahead of the 2024 election.
—
Connor Greene,
Time,
3 Oct. 2025
Anderson saw something in the artist formerly known as Marky Mark, who’d only made the transition from musical artist to actor three years earlier, that Wahlberg still doesn’t see in himself, if his disavowal of the movie is any indication.
—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
But the new wave of disavowals represents the latest sign that the conflict, which has killed thousands of Palestinians, has become polarizing within the mainstream of the party.
—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disavowal
Noun
-
Safety net hospitals also have fewer resources than more affluent hospitals to deal with denials from Medicaid managed care organizations, which occur when health insurers and other organizations that administer Medicaid benefits for the state deny payment for certain claims.
-
The same pattern of denial appeared in law as well.
Noun
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This finding specifically held true for people with fearful and preoccupied attachment styles, two subtypes of insecure attachment associated with a craving for intimacy but, respectively, a deep fear of it or a fear of rejection and abandonment.
-
Someone with anxious attachment may worry about rejection, seek excessive reassurance or feel uncertain about the stability of relationships.
Cite this Entry
“Disavowal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disavowal. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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