as in retracting
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 recanting
In 1999, four suspects were arrested, with two suspects confessing but later recanting, police said.
—
Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2025
Lunsford ended up recanting his statement when questioned again, this time by a district attorney’s investigator.
—Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 17 Sep. 2025
However, in a 2024 court filing known as a coram nobis petition, Zachary Adams revealed Autry was recanting his testimony and asked for a new trial.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2025
Lunsford ended up recanting his statement when questioned again, this time by a district attorney’s investigator.
—Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 17 Sep. 2025
However, in a 2024 court filing known as a coram nobis petition, Zachary Adams revealed Autry was recanting his testimony and asked for a new trial.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for recanting
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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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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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
Verb
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Federal and state officials have offered contradicting accounts of those videos.—
Emily Holshouser,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Jan. 2026
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The group says that carveout opened a political pathway to faster access to federal records, contradicting FOIA’s requirement that agencies handle requests in a content-neutral manner.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Recanting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recanting. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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