1
as in to deny
to declare not to be true
he steadfastly disowned that he was having an affair
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
In September 2025, it was revealed that Ferguson sent an email to Epstein apologizing for publicly disowning him in a March 2011 interview with the Evening Standard.
—
Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026
At the end of her remarks Monday, McCarthy told the court that Mykkanen’s family has disowned Garner.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2026
Both have been associated with Epstein, but both have since disowned those friendships.
—CBS News, 20 Dec. 2025
Food and beverage stocks are even more disowned than the rest of staples.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 9 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for disown
Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026
At the end of her remarks Monday, McCarthy told the court that Mykkanen’s family has disowned Garner.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2026
Both have been associated with Epstein, but both have since disowned those friendships.
—CBS News, 20 Dec. 2025
Food and beverage stocks are even more disowned than the rest of staples.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 9 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for disown
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disown
Verb
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Recent requests had similarly been made and denied to honor Charlie Kirk, the slain conservative activist, and former Vice President Dick Cheney.—
MATT BROWN,
Arkansas Online,
21 Feb. 2026
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The Pentagon has denied these allegations.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Points are deducted if kids try to refuse at the last minute.—
Moira McCarthy,
Boston Herald,
25 Feb. 2026
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This is causing all sorts of interpersonal problems that HR has flatly refused to get involved with.—
Jeanne Phillips,
Mercury News,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The big man drew a foul inside, sank a baby hook shot, rejected a shot by Suns counterpart Mark Williams and fed a pass to Sam Hauser for a layup.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
25 Feb. 2026
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These improvements came after Americans rejected soft-on-crime and defund-the-police policies, which resulted in a spike in crime over the previous 4 years.—
Gabe Evans,
Denver Post,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Reportedly, Jets owner Woody Johnson is forcing Glenn to call plays, but the organization has refuted those reports.—
Antwan Staley,
New York Daily News,
23 Feb. 2026
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But Judge Tharp refuted that claim, indulging in a few other jokes in his ruling.—
Jake Angelo,
Fortune,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disown.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disown. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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