Disavow

//dɪsəˈvaʊ// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To strongly and solemnly refuse to own or acknowledge; to deny responsibility for, approbation of, and the like. transitive

    "He was charged with embezzlement, but he disavows the crime."

  2. 2
    refuse to acknowledge; disclaim knowledge of; responsibility for, or association with wordnet
  3. 3
    To deny; to show the contrary of; to deny legitimacy or achievement of any kind. transitive

    "Because of her dissatisfaction, she now disavows the merits of fascism."

Synonyms

All synonyms
abjuredenydenyrejectabjureassert the contrary

Example

More examples

"Only a narrow-minded man can disavow his native language absorbed with his mother's milk."

Etymology

From dis- + avow, or from Old French desavouer.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.