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
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This founding tenet of the Bel Paese now looks set to change — ending diaspora dreams of returning to the mother country, and meaning that Italians who move abroad risk denying citizenship to their descendants.—
Julia Buckley,
CNN Money,
14 Mar. 2026
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This year there have been rumors about Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal joining forces for Reiner, but the organizers are neither confirming nor denying that reunion.—
Lindsey Bahr,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Tommy Thompson, a deep-sea explorer who spent more than a decade in federal custody for refusing to disclose the location of a cache of gold coins from a historic shipwreck, was released from prison.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
12 Mar. 2026
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Tommy Thompson, a research scientist who was imprisoned for a decade after refusing to disclose where an 1800s shipwreck's gold coins were being stored, was released, according to federal Bureau of Prisons records.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Taiwan’s defense ministry expressed its thanks for the authorization, rejecting opposition claims the plans were opaque.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
13 Mar. 2026
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The young butterfly teaches his mother important lessons in accepting others and not rejecting them based on their color.—
Helen I. Bennett,
Hartford Courant,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Late in the evening, the sheriff's office posted that no injuries or deaths had been reported from the storm, refuting social media rumors.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA TODAY,
11 Mar. 2026
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But the company is refuting the claims.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disowning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disowning. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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