1
as in to deny
to declare not to be true
he steadfastly disowned that he was having an affair
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to refuse
to refuse to acknowledge as one's own or as one's responsibility
the dictatorial father angrily disowned his rebellious son
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disown
Glen Powell plays a charming guy disowned by his wealthy family when he was born.
—
Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2026
When Mary won’t give up the baby, she’s disowned by patriarch Whitelaw (Ed Harris) and exiled to New Jersey from her family’s palatial Long Island estate.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 18 Feb. 2026
Becket is broke, disowned and circling a family fortune that never wanted him.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 18 Feb. 2026
They may be cut off from financial resources, disowned, or stripped of personal property and communal safety nets.
—Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for disown
Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2026
When Mary won’t give up the baby, she’s disowned by patriarch Whitelaw (Ed Harris) and exiled to New Jersey from her family’s palatial Long Island estate.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 18 Feb. 2026
Becket is broke, disowned and circling a family fortune that never wanted him.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 18 Feb. 2026
They may be cut off from financial resources, disowned, or stripped of personal property and communal safety nets.
—Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for disown
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disown
Verb
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Rivas led a recent charge to deny the renewal of Gabriella Charter School, which uses a substantial portion of the Echo Park campus where the district operates Logan Academy for Global Ecology.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
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On Friday, Musk also denied a Bloomberg report that SpaceX valuation was lowered on Friday, reaffirming that the rocket and satellite company will have a blockbuster IPO and comfortably dominate against other historic IPO deals.—
Ananya Chetia,
CNBC,
29 May 2026
Verb
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The nurses refused to increase her morphine.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
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The fund sparked widespread condemnation and a standoff between the White House and Congress, with Senate Republicans refusing to pass an immigration enforcement spending bill unless the fund was limited or scrapped.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
Verb
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The court also rejected the New Orleans City Council’s attempt to hold a special election, which would have given Duncan the option to run again.—
Jack Brook,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2026
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On Tuesday, however, the federation learned that the CAS panel had largely rejected its arguments but has annulled the first sanction’s partial-stadium closure.—
Matt Slater,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Verb
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California officials, including Secretary of State Shirley Weber, have repeatedly refuted claims of fraud and, in fact, have defended the state’s slower process as critical to ensuring the counts are accurate.—
Linh Tat,
Daily News,
9 June 2026
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At trial, defense lawyer Bob Varga refuted the accusation, noting there was no bodycam footage of the incident.—
Meredith Colias-Pete,
Chicago Tribune,
5 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disown.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disown. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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