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
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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
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University of California Health is denying reports that human bodies donated for research and education at UC San Diego in La Jolla were sold to the Navy and the Israel Defense Forces for military medical training.—
Ashley Mackin Solomon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 June 2026
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And no one is denying the tensions between certain governments.—
Ava Berger,
NPR,
19 June 2026
Verb
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Trump has frequently been at odds with the NBA during his two terms in office, with big stars like Stephen Curry and LeBron James refusing invites during his first term in office.—
Zachary Folk,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
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In a shocking decision in February, Prasad rejected Moderna’s filing, refusing to even review the vaccine.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
18 June 2026
Verb
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As its offense gained confidence, Scotland turned away two more Moroccan scoring bids, with Hendry sliding to deflect a Sabiri dangerous shot off the crossbar and Gunn rejecting an El Khannouss header off a corner kick.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
20 June 2026
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What the Business Roundtable Actually Showed In 2019, the Business Roundtable issued a statement seemingly rejecting shareholder primacy.—
Steve Denning,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2026
Verb
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Two other retired judges later published their own piece refuting Gilliard’s contention.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
14 June 2026
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Anne Hathaway is refuting online speculation over whether she's had a facelift.—
Sharareh Drury,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disowning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disowning. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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