Synonym Chooser

How is the word abjure different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of abjure are forswear, recant, renounce, and retract. While all these words mean "to withdraw one's word or professed belief," abjure implies a firm and final rejecting or abandoning often made under oath.

abjured the errors of his former faith

When would forswear be a good substitute for abjure?

In some situations, the words forswear and abjure are roughly equivalent. However, forswear may add an implication of perjury or betrayal.

I cannot forswear my principles

When is recant a more appropriate choice than abjure?

The synonyms recant and abjure are sometimes interchangeable, but recant stresses the withdrawing or denying of something professed or taught.

if they recant they will be spared

When can renounce be used instead of abjure?

Although the words renounce and abjure have much in common, renounce may carry the meaning of disclaim or disown.

renounced abstract art and turned to portrait painting

When could retract be used to replace abjure?

The words retract and abjure can be used in similar contexts, but retract applies to the withdrawing of a promise, an offer, or an accusation.

the newspaper had to retract the story

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of abjure The Abrahamic faiths conceive of God as an omniscient creator and generally abjure gambling as a result; one of the first laws passed by the Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony banned the possession of cards, dice, or gaming tables. Idrees Kahloon, The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2024 In the end, de Hales agreed to abjure the realm, which meant walking, barefoot, to the port of Chester, a hundred and thirty miles away, holding a wooden cross and wearing sackcloth, and taking a ship across the Irish Sea, never to return. Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2024 Elite progressive educational institutions were unlikely to experience a radical moral epiphany the moment the Supreme Court made its ruling, and abjure their discriminatory impulses and racial fixations. The Editors, National Review, 8 Aug. 2023 This scenario—the Russian nationalist who abjures the war—is Ukraine’s quickest path to some sort of victory. Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2023 See All Example Sentences for abjure
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abjure
Verb
  • The justices who renounced that lie in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center exposed themselves to scurrilous criticisms and even threats to their safety.
    The Editors, National Review, 24 June 2025
  • Syria's new government, led by a former affiliate of ISIS and Al-Qaeda who has renounced jihadi ties in recent years, has vowed to continue efforts to battle ISIS.
    Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025
Verb
  • The movie also acknowledges that there is a climate crisis, but tries to avoid having viewers frozen with fear.
    Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 18 June 2025
  • Several groups have begun paying street vendors in California to temporarily stop working in public areas to avoid Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
    Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 June 2025
Verb
  • In the Trump era, many have speculated about whether or to what degree the United States will withdraw from its leading role in the world.
    KORI SCHAKE, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
  • Hall, on the other hand, finished just six strokes behind the champion, despite nearly withdrawing 48 hours earlier.
    Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025
Verb
  • And note that those who are now actually making their student loan payments must forego other uses of those funds, a large portion of which was consumption.
    Robert Barone, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
  • Firms in mining and energy are among those foregoing dividend payments.
    Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 May 2025
Verb
  • Trade with Mexico has been robust – and the U.S. deficit with Mexico has swollen as China’s has retracted.
    Ken Roberts, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
  • But at the last moment, as the path between the two structures is retracting, Gi-hun jumps over and begins to fight Myung-gi to the death with the knife he’s had in his possession, as the baby lies off to the side.
    Jennifer Maas, Variety, 27 June 2025
Verb
  • But the company denies claims that its equipment sparked the 2019 fire, which tore through Sylmar, Porter Ranch and Granada Hills — all suburbs of Los Angeles — burning 8,799 acres.
    Melody Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2025
  • To many in the transgender community, the policy also felt like another attack by the current administration to erase them from public spaces and deny their existence.
    Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 27 June 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Abjure.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abjure. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on abjure

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!