Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To recant solemnly; renounce or repudiate: "For nearly 21 years after his resignation as Prime Minister in 1963, he abjured all titles, preferring to remain just plain 'Mr.'” ( Time).
- v. To renounce under oath; forswear.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To renounce upon oath; forswear; withdraw formally from: as, to abjure allegiance to a prince.
- To renounce or repudiate; abandon; retract; especially, to renounce or retract with solemnity: as, to abjure one's errors or wrong practices.
- To take an oath of abjuration.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To renounce upon oath; to forswear; to disavow.
To abjure the realm , is to swear to abandon it forever. - v. To renounce or reject with solemnity; to recant; to abandon forever; to reject; repudiate.
- v. To renounce on oath.
WordNet 3.0
- v. formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure
Etymologies
- From Middle English abjuren, then from either Middle French abjurer or directly from Latin abiūrō ("deny upon oath"), formed from ab ("from, away from") + iūro ("swear or take an oath"), from iūs ("law, right, duty"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English abjuren, from Old French abjurer, from Latin abiūrāre : ab-, away; see ab-1 + iūrāre, to swear. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“These are the very people Orwell was describing, who 'abjure' violence and are not even aware that they are kept safe by 'rough men' ready to do violence on their behalf.”
“Indeed, as George Orwell observed, "Those who 'abjure' violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf.”
“And you'll impress your pals when you drop "abjure" or "loquacity" in conversation.”
Dan Brown: This Videogame Makes You Smarter and Helps the Hungry: The FreeRice Phenomenon
“This is Orwell's definition of a particular segement of society: "Those who" abjure "violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf.”
Sound Politics: "Are Iraqi rebels cheering Dems big election wins?"
“Those who 'abjure' violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf.”
“And in his 'Notes on Nationalism' (1945) he wrote: "Those who" abjure "violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf.”
“That, presumably, is why he must 'abjure' this 'rough magic' by breaking his magical staff and drowning his book.”
“Erard exclaimed that she must "abjure" or be burnt at once.”
“There was some murmuring among the crowd during this long ceremony; for while Jeanne was alive the English soldiery dared attempt nothing fresh; and they only saw in her refusals to "abjure" an immediate reason for handing her over from the ecclesiastical justice to the secular, whose ways were swifter.”
“Pak has evidence about India's involvement in Balochistan' today said Government was willing to open talks with the Maoists provided they "abjure" violence which, he said, was the only hurdle to hold”
WN.com - Articles related to Pak charge of funding Taliban absurd, baseless: Antony
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘abjure’.
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important
shamanism, consol, sanguine, iffy, affinity, concatenation, honed, innumberable, aiden, inexorable, vet, suss and 176 more...
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hunting
crudely, unequivocal, obsolete, obscure, overtly, misdeed, shack, inherent, outcry, hefty, composed, poised and 319 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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New words
new words or spelling issues
voluble, Metagrobolize, salubrious, calumny, fugacity, withdrawal, bourse, hypertrophy, leitmotif, argot, improvident, damask and 246 more...
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words 1
Traduce, Ramify, precipitous, rapture, adumbrate, knell, smolder, vagary, choleric, sibylline, hypocritical, jejune and 185 more...
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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06-13 GRE list
churlish, unswear, abnegate, abjure, state, indemnification, adumbrated, reny, abash, recondite, rescission, esoteric and 258 more...
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Shakespeare.04
indissoluble, braggart, abjure, hoodwink, exasperate, flourish, assay, trammel, farrow, epicure, requite, flee and 3 more...
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1000 words
abdicate, aberration, abet, abide, abject, ablution, abnegate, aboriginal, abortive, abrogate, abstemious, abstruse and 78 more...
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ash vocab
flippant, fillip, expiate, explicate, extirpate, facile, florid, fealty, allegiance, fetid, febrile, pert and 134 more...
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ICE
quincunx, adoxography, panjundrum, breloque, surd, scripturient, rousant, favrile, embouchure, aquarelle, griffonage, sussultatory and 491 more...
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my GRE words
pedant, wizened, histrionic, logorrhea, frenetic, approbation, quibble, knell, acclivity, droog, prevarication, aplomb and 182 more...
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Faves
nepenthe, cupidity, anodyne, obdurate, doleful, obsolescent, quale, piquant, velleity, inchoate, disport, facile and 366 more...
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GRE
abate, abdicate, aberrant, abhor, abjure, abrasive, abridge, abstain, acme, activism, adhere, admonish and 195 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for abjure.
I. Lily C. “I abjure with a sincere heart and unfeigned faith, I curse and detest the said errors and heresies, and generally all and every error and sect contrary to the Holy Catholic Church.” - Galileo Galilei Dec 15, 2010
hernesheir (v.t.) to renounce, foreswear, or deny upon oath; to reject, recant, abandon, repudiate. Dec 30, 2008