Recant

//ɹəˈkænt// verb

verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To withdraw or repudiate a statement or opinion formerly expressed, especially formally and publicly. ambitransitive

    "Convince me that I am wrong, and I will recant."

  2. 2
    To give a new cant (slant, angle) to something, in particular railway track on a curve.

    "Numerous curves, which previously had given no trouble at 75 and 80 m.p.h., were realigned and recanted to adapt them for 90 m.p.h. and more, [...]."

  3. 3
    formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
abjureabjureretractdisavowretractdisavow

Example

More examples

"Tom had to recant or face excommunication."

Etymology

Etymology 1

First attested in 1535, from Latin recantare (“to sing back, reecho, sing again, repeat in singing, recant, recall, revoke, charm back or away”), from re- (“back”) + canto (“to chant, to sing”), frequentative of cano.

Etymology 2

From re- + cant.

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