Synonyms of recanted

recanted 1 of 2

adjective

as in retracted

Related Words

• retracted
• revoked
• withheld
• suppressed
• repressed
• stifled
• personal
• concealed
• reserved
• silenced
• intimate
• surreptitious
• conspiratorial
• undercover
• undisclosed
• clandestine
• underhanded
• collusive
• covert
• classified
• underhand
• unannounced
• confidential
• unadvertised
• privy
• private
• secret

Dissimilar Words

• public
• open
• general
• popular
• unclassified
• well-known
• nonclassified

recanted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of recant

as in renounced

to solemnly or formally reject or go back on (as something formerly adhered to)

the Inquisition forced Galileo to recant his support of the Copernican observation that the earth revolves around the sun

Synonyms & Similar Words

• retracted
• renounced
• withdrew
• denied
• contradicted
• refuted
• repealed
• abandoned
• repudiated
• abjured
• reneged
• relinquished
• took back
• forswore
• disavowed
• recalled
• disowned
• disclaimed
• disproved
• unsaid
• spurned
• abnegated
• rebutted
• gainsaid
• forsook
• negated
• controverted
• disputed
• revoked
• disagreed (with)
• surrendered
• backtracked
• bolted
• negatived
• disallowed
• gave up
• backed down
• backed off

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stated
• admitted
• claimed
• acknowledged
• affirmed
• declared
• asserted
• maintained
• proclaimed
• contended
• adhered (to)
• confirmed
• professed
• supported
• adopted
• defended
• endorsed
• accepted
• backed
• upheld
• vowed
• vouched
• avowed
• embraced
• espoused

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of recanted

Adjective

The two who confessed – and later recanted – were convicted of capital murder and remained in prison until DNA evidence proving their innocence led to their release in 2009, prosecutors said. — Jean Casarez, CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025

Verb

His conviction rested on circumstantial evidence and testimony from witnesses Myers’ lawyers said were unreliable, including one witness who later recanted his testimony. — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026

Over the years, questions about the evidence against Smith emerged as a witness recanted, Lowden repudiated his earlier statement implicating Smith, and another man claimed responsibility for Hart's killing. — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2026

In lieu of physical evidence, some witnesses gave statements against Noling during his trial, but later recanted their statements and said they were initially pressured by the prosecutor to give them, the Death Penalty Information Center says. — CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026

In addition, investigators working for Duncan’s legal team interviewed a jailhouse informant who recanted his earlier trial testimony that Duncan had confessed to the crime. — Richard A. Webster, ProPublica, 29 June 2026

At least three people were arrested and police said at least four others have recanted. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 17 June 2026

Others have recanted and said police coerced them into implicating Washington and Simms. — John Annese, New York Daily News, 22 May 2026

However, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office ultimately dropped charges against Santana after the 17-year-old accuser recanted his statements to prosecutors, television interviewers and on social media, according to court records. — Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 14 May 2026

The conviction turned largely on eyewitness testimony that has since been recanted and scientific evidence that has since been debunked. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 8 May 2026