ABJURE Synonyms: 94 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

abjure

verb

ab-ˈju̇r

Definition of abjure next

as in to renounce

to solemnly or formally reject or go back on (as something formerly adhered to) abjured some long-held beliefs when she converted to another religion

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to avoid

to resist the temptation of a strict religious sect that abjures the luxuries, comforts, and conveniences of the modern world

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 Half Prospero, half Gomer Pyle, Wilson abjured his magic and spent much of the following two decades stumbling into mania, depression, and drug abuse, before eventually reemerging into public life and personal prosperity. —

Derek Robertson, The Washington Examiner, 13 June 2025 The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism. —

Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025 Both President Trump and Attorney General–designate Pam Bondi are positioned to stop the lawfare, but only if the Democrats abjure their politicization of criminal justice. —

Raul A. Reyes, Newsweek, 22 Jan. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for abjure

Recent Examples of Synonyms for abjure

Verb

Jafarzadeh highlighted Khabiri as a symbol of the regime’s repression of athletes, as Khabiri was a rising soccer star who became captain of Iran’s national team before being arrested and asked to appear on television to renounce his political beliefs.

— Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 10 June 2026
Her first book, Notes on a Foreign Country (2018), seeks to take stock of, and renounce, American solipsism abroad.

— Suzy Hansen, The New York Review of Books, 6 June 2026

Definition of renounce

Verb

Manhattan matchup The two super PAC networks have largely shied away from producing ads that mention AI and have mostly chosen to avoid competing against each other in the same races.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2026
Drivers are being advised to take alternate routes and to avoid the area.

— Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 21 June 2026

Definition of avoid

Verb

The ceasefire in the MOU extends to a halt in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, requiring Israel to withdraw from Lebanon under a final deal that Trump hopes to reach within 60 days.

— Joey Garrison, USA Today, 19 June 2026
Garcia said some students have disengaged from campus life or withdrawn from classes altogether.

— Valentina Toro, Hartford Courant, 19 June 2026

Definition of withdraw

Verb

One of his Greenlandic colleagues offered his own thoughts, then similarly retracted, lest his assertions affect Greenland’s new position of leverage.

— Ben Taub, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
The farm retracted those statements five days later, but continued to dispute the cause of the outbreak and contest the agency’s findings.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 14 June 2026