variants
also foreswearing
as in renouncing
to solemnly or formally reject or go back on (as something formerly adhered to)
the new government would have to forswear the use of torture if it wished to be granted full diplomatic recognition
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of forswearing
Many women did so, forswearing British wares, spinning flax on town greens, and swapping handwritten patriotic verse while drinking herbal-tea substitutes.
—
Jane Kamensky, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025
Jane Kamensky, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forswearing
Verb
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Margaret’s father succeeded him as King George VI, and her mother Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, never forgave the duke for renouncing his duty to his country.—
Samantha Conti,
Footwear News,
29 Dec. 2025
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Ukraine withdrawing from all of the Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and Kyiv officially renouncing its aim to join NATO.—
Andrea Shalal,
USA Today,
28 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Uhlaender accused the Canadian team and its coach, Joe Cecchini, of intentionally withdrawing the athletes, deliberately manipulating the field to benefit one of their own sliders’ bids for qualification.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
26 Jan. 2026
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In so doing, avoid withdrawing NATO’s commitment to defend NATO member states’ remote, former (and, in the case of Cyprus, coincidentally insular) colonial territories was thus established as a norm for the alliance, not an exception – one that is newly relevant once again.—
Barry Scott Zellen,
Hartford Courant,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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School public safety had initially reported that a suspect had been taken into custody before retracting that statement.—
Kierra Frazier,
CBS News,
13 Dec. 2025
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This series of exemptions is part of EPA’s suite of PFAS de-regulation that includes approving PFAS-laden pesticides and retracting some of its maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) that were the result of years of careful research and policymaking.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Nov. 2025
Verb
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These two teams have circled each other since the Rams won the NFC West last winter based off a tiebreaker, denying Seattle the opportunity to play for a postseason spot before their Week 18 matchup.—
Adam Grosbard,
Oc Register,
25 Jan. 2026
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While federal law makes Ross immune from being directly sued for assault or wrongful death in Good’s shooting, he could be named as a defendant – and end up in front of a jury – in a suit accusing him of denying Good’s civil rights.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
25 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Forswearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forswearing. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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