1
as in denying
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 refusing
to refuse to acknowledge as one's own or as one's responsibility
the dictatorial father angrily disowned his rebellious son
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disowning
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
The pastor approaches the line without fully disenchanting; a magician drawing attention to the trick without disowning its power.
—Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
Emails published on the Mail on Sunday revealed Ferguson apologized to Epstein weeks after publicly disowning him, back in 2011.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 30 Nov. 2025
Extended family members of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller are disowning him, according to his cousin.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
Maximum Overdrive, the only movie that King directed, is eligible… but King himself joined the chorus of harsh critics, disowning it and never again returning to the director’s chair .
—James Grebey, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026
The pastor approaches the line without fully disenchanting; a magician drawing attention to the trick without disowning its power.
—Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
Emails published on the Mail on Sunday revealed Ferguson apologized to Epstein weeks after publicly disowning him, back in 2011.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 30 Nov. 2025
Extended family members of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller are disowning him, according to his cousin.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
Maximum Overdrive, the only movie that King directed, is eligible… but King himself joined the chorus of harsh critics, disowning it and never again returning to the director’s chair .
—James Grebey, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disowning
Verb
-
In Uthmeier’s mind, the world is unfairly denying white men careers as head coaches and coffeehouse baristas.—
Scott Maxwell,
Sun Sentinel,
9 May 2026
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In effectively denying the zoning measures sought by the county, the planning board on Wednesday reversed course on a previous 2018 approval by the same body, though with some different members, of essentially the same county plan.—
Andres Viglucci,
Miami Herald,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Moreover, lawmakers are engaged in budget negotiations, where the House is refusing to fund several of DeSantis’ priorities.—
Gray Rohrer,
Sun Sentinel,
15 May 2026
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Former Representative Elizabeth Holtzman, one of the co-authors, has portrayed the act as a corrective to the moral failure of refusing entry to many Jewish refugees during the Holocaust.—
Annie Hylton,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
Verb
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But the system kept rejecting it, saying my Colorado driver license wasn’t from the United States.—
Christopher Elliott,
Mercury News,
15 May 2026
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When Nita rebuffs the advances of the lightweight cad Christophe (who’s Pierre’s brother), that’s the one focused emotion in the movie — a woman rejecting workplace harassment.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
14 May 2026
Verb
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King’s break with Johnson was not about refuting his historic contributions.—
Mark Conway,
Baltimore Sun,
9 May 2026
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That’s not refuting the secrecy.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disowning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disowning. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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