as in retracted
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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
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Recent Examples of recanted
Jean Casarez, CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025
Equal Justice Initiative, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
The man who created Steele dossier recanted it in February, and Comey kept using the document to get warrants.
—NBC news, 12 Oct. 2025
But now, Richins' defense team claims that Crozier recanted the statement in April, and accuses prosecutors of knowingly withholding the info from the defense ahead of trial.
—Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 3 Oct. 2025
Dassey contradicted himself numerous times during the confession, and later recanted it entirely.
—Kelli Arseneau, jsonline.com, 1 Oct. 2025
Whatever, Dever quickly recanted her earlier precise testimony to the FBI about the sinister doings by those two dodgy cops behind Karen Read’s SUV.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
The first woman has since recanted her allegations of abuse, and Mills has not been charged with any crime.
—Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 3 Sep. 2025
But Raviani later recanted her allegations and dubbed it a misunderstanding.
—Nick Mordowanec, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
However, Springsteen and Scott later recanted their confessions, claiming they were coerced during lengthy police interrogations.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
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
Some accusers changed their minds and recanted.
—Equal Justice Initiative, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
The man who created Steele dossier recanted it in February, and Comey kept using the document to get warrants.
—NBC news, 12 Oct. 2025
But now, Richins' defense team claims that Crozier recanted the statement in April, and accuses prosecutors of knowingly withholding the info from the defense ahead of trial.
—Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 3 Oct. 2025
Dassey contradicted himself numerous times during the confession, and later recanted it entirely.
—Kelli Arseneau, jsonline.com, 1 Oct. 2025
Whatever, Dever quickly recanted her earlier precise testimony to the FBI about the sinister doings by those two dodgy cops behind Karen Read’s SUV.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
The first woman has since recanted her allegations of abuse, and Mills has not been charged with any crime.
—Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 3 Sep. 2025
But Raviani later recanted her allegations and dubbed it a misunderstanding.
—Nick Mordowanec, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
However, Springsteen and Scott later recanted their confessions, claiming they were coerced during lengthy police interrogations.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for recanted
Adjective
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The three presenters on the hepatitis B vaccine were not vaccine scientists, and two had authored a retracted paper about autism.—
Dr. Debra Houry,
Time,
5 Dec. 2025
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Here’s how the situation unfolded and why the since-retracted comment was so controversial.—
Clare Duffy,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Royalist émigrés began to trickle back into the country in 1795, and a number of Jacobins who renounced their earlier radicalism were also reintegrated into civil society.—
Time,
Time,
21 Oct. 2025
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Takaichi has called for a hardline stance towards China and is also in favor of revising Japan’s pacifist constitution, especially Article 9, which renounced Japan’s right to wage war.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Former North Crowley standout Ka’Morreun Pimpton also withdrew his name from the portal Sunday.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
6 Jan. 2026
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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) withdrew its troops last week following a deadline from Saudi Arabia.—
Ashley J. DiMella,
FOXNews.com,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The withheld funding supports election monitoring, independent media and other pro-democracy programs abroad.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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At the time, ICE had requested local officials hold him in jail, but that request was denied, the affidavit said.—
Allison Gordon,
CNN Money,
9 Jan. 2026
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The agency that was set to investigate before being denied access to evidence and case materials is called the Force Investigations Unit of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, part of the Department of Public Safety.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Too long submerged in suppressed grief, Zilpha now came up from its depth like any swimmer stroking toward light and sweet air.—
Annie Proulx,
New Yorker,
10 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But a witness’ account contradicted Siebenaller’s statement.—
Jamie Landers,
Dallas Morning News,
5 Jan. 2026
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Those findings, published in 2020, contradicted the earlier hypothesis and raised doubts as to whether the species should be considered a hominin at all.—
Cody Cottier,
Scientific American,
2 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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In Coldwater, Walking Dead star Lincoln returns to British screens as a repressed man who moves to a backwater Scottish village and strikes up a friendship with his next door neighbor Tommy (Ewen Bremner).—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
27 Oct. 2025
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Like Freud’s return of the repressed.—
Lucinda Rosenfeld,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Recanted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recanted. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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