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• repealed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

The film includes a riveting scene where the exonerated men — Ransom Watkins, Andrew Stewart, and Alfred Chestnut – meet face-to-face with a man who recanted his testimony that had helped convict the trio decades earlier. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2026

Missing evidence and recanted testimonies suggest that powerful men might have interfered with the investigation to hide their own complicity in the murder. — Marcus Librizzi, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026

Springsteen and Scott confessed during police questioning but recanted before trial, saying investigators pressured them into giving false statements. — Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026

Four friends testified against him, then recanted their testimony. — Sea Stachura, NPR, 21 Oct. 2026

The original trial judge agreed, several jurors recanted their guilty verdict, and Texas politicians rallied to her defense. — Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026

At his 2005 trial, those witnesses all recanted, saying police had pressured them to accuse O’Neal. — Samantha Melamed, ProPublica, 13 Oct. 2026

Greenspan protested the inaccuracies in subsequent filings, and Tinubu’s team later recanted the claims. — Adrian Elimian, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2026

Now, Carter is submitting a new appeal after Jane Doe fully recanted her claims last week. — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2026