disavowed

verb

past tense of disavow
1
as in denied
to declare not to be true disavowed the testimony that she had given earlier in the trial

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in refused
to refuse to acknowledge as one's own or as one's responsibility the government will disavow any knowledge of your mission

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 disavowed In her later years, Lessing distanced herself from the feminist movement and disavowed The Golden Notebook’s reputation as a feminist manifesto. — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026 The dispute eventually resulted in Min’s removal as ADOR’s CEO, a shake-up NewJeans’ members publicly disavowed. — Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 21 July 2026 Our Revolution, the political group founded when Sanders folded his 2016 campaign, disavowed Platner late Monday and pushed Democrats for a new nominee who’s similarly left-leaning. — David Weigel, semafor.com, 7 July 2026 Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images Her employer, French sports daily L'Equipe, disavowed the comments and also apologized to Doku in a statement late Sunday, saying the remarks did not represent its values. — CBS News, 24 June 2026 Avila Chevalier also faced racist attacks and false accusations about her ethnicity from a senior advisor to Espaillat, which Mamdani condemned and Espaillat’s campaign disavowed. — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 24 June 2026 The administration has since repeatedly disavowed the proposal. — Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 19 June 2026 The judge was concerned that officials have not disavowed the fund in writing. — Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 12 June 2026 When the British civil case goes to trial, one of the witnesses will be Lauren Southern, the former far-right activist, who has since disavowed many of her past views. — Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disavowed
  1. denied
  2. refused
  3. refuted
  4. rejected
Verb
  • Jones has repeatedly denied the allegations since he was arrested in 2024.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026
  • The former FedEx driver who was sentenced to death in May for the capital murder of 7-year-old Wise County girl Athena Strand has had his request for a new trial denied.
    — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of denied
Verb
  • In February, Trump appointee Vinay Prasad—a Kennedy ally—refused to even review the vaccine, despite objections from FDA staff and career officials, shocking Moderna and the larger biomedical community.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Thursday's vote was along party lines, and came after Fauci refused to answer lawmakers' questions in a hearing last week about the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, citing his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination.
    — Eric McDaniel, NPR, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of refused
Verb
  • Players from that 1951 side have strongly refuted the story, while the priest at its centre has never been identified.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 27 July 2026
  • The country's health minister, David Kershenobich, refuted the FDA's assertion on July 21.
    — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 22 July 2026
Definition of refuted
Verb
  • Crump has also rejected notions from law enforcement officials that Wells may have drowned, citing the teenager’s ability to swim well and his athletic past.
    — Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Florida Crystals consistently rejected those criticisms, saying the company complied with environmental regulations, invested heavily in conservation and upheld labor standards.
    — Luisa Yanez, Miami Herald, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of rejected

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Cite this Entry

“Disavowed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disavowed. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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