Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To reject the validity or authority of: "Chaucer . . . not only came to doubt the worth of his extraordinary body of work, but repudiated it” ( Joyce Carol Oates).
- v. To reject emphatically as unfounded, untrue, or unjust: repudiated the accusation.
- v. To refuse to recognize or pay: repudiate a debt.
- v. To disown (a child, for example).
- v. To refuse to have any dealings with.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To put away; divorce.
- To cast away; reject; discard; renounce; disavow.
- To refuse to acknowledge or to pay, as a debt; disclaim.
- Repudiated.
Wiktionary
- v. To reject the truth or validity of something; to deny.
- v. To refuse to have anything to do with; to disown.
- v. To refuse to pay or honor (a debt).
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To cast off; to disavow; to have nothing to do with; to renounce; to reject.
- v. To divorce, put away, or discard, as a wife, or a woman one has promised to marry.
- v. To refuse to acknowledge or to pay; to disclaim.
WordNet 3.0
- v. cast off
- v. refuse to acknowledge, ratify, or recognize as valid
- v. reject as untrue, unfounded, or unjust
- v. refuse to recognize or pay
Etymologies
- From Latin repudiō ("cast off, reject"), from repudium ("divorce") (Wiktionary)
- Latin repudiāre, repudiāt-, from repudium, divorce. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Will demands that John McCain repudiate John Hagee be balanced by calls for Barack Obama to distance himself from James Carroll?”
“You hate it that it isn't "conservative," because it didn't pursue "conservative" policies, but you support, defend, and don't reject -- or "repudiate" -- those policies.”
“Shakespeare liked to coin new words too," she said. tweet following her use of the word - something of a mix of 'refute' and 'repudiate' -”
“In the summer NAACP members called on tea party groups to "repudiate" what they called "racist elements" in the movement.”
The Washington Post: NAACP backs report that ties racist groups to tea party
“Maybe the judge really did lie, and maybe did "repudiate" his initial decision (if not formal ruling) "in order to gain himself some publicity at [Polanski's] expense," and maybe Polanski really did face serious jail time despite the initial agreement.”
The Huffington Post: Michael J.W. Stickings: Roman Polanski Breaks His Silence and Admits Nothing
“At their annual meeting in Kansas City last week the NAACP, the nation's largest civil rights organization, accused the Tea Party of harboring racist elements and called on leaders of the movement to "repudiate" those elements.”
“Not just a stirring defense of human rights, also a chance to use "repudiate" correctly.”
“The White House issued a statement calling on lawmakers to "repudiate" Mr. Barton's comments, while Vice President Joe Biden called the remarks "outrageous.”
The Wall Street Journal: BP Chief Says He Wasn't Involved in Well Decisions
“Many at the time believed the fabrication was a misguided splicing of the words "repudiate" and "refute.”
The Huffington Post: Sarah Palin Attempts To Explain 'Refudiate' Gaffe
“Unless you're Hitler, for example, it is rarely the case that we can "repudiate" a human being.”
Obama On Wright: "I Might Not Know Him As Well As I Thought"
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘repudiate’.
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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sdamle1
echt
echt, apocalypse, resurgence, forthright, logorrhea, mercurial, torrid, exorcise, obscure, intrusive, morose, vindictive and 100 more...
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501
Classic
mete, ire, bane, bilk, boor, elan, ado, toil, onus, aberration, abstruse, anomaly and 401 more...
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GRE Barron's 800
zealot, wistful, welter, wary, whimsical, warranted, vortex, vivisection, volatile, vitiate, viscous, visage and 787 more...
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501
Classic
abhor, mirth, obtuse, iota, vex, irk, teem, pith, moot, mete, ire, bane and 401 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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(1st_wk_150)-Dec_5_2012
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron, paradox, realm and 297 more...
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501
Classic
bane, bilk, boor, elan, ado, toil, onus, aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august and 401 more...
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GRE
predilection, explicit, appeal, supplication, appealing, enchanting, ovation, pertinent, apropos, opportunely, applicable, germane and 381 more...
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GRE
droll, dyspeptic, ebullient, ardor, edify, efficacy, malinger, mannered, martinet, maudlin, mendacious, mendicant and 102 more...
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the author [suggests] adjectives
allude to, refer to, hint, insinuate, intimate, present, prompt, inspire, advise, notes, proposes, suggests and 42 more...
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GRE 1100
drudgery, implore, hapless, nuance, wrest, incipient, inadvertent, tremulous, bristle, euphemism, disdain, pugnacious and 346 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1908 more...
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1100 words you need to know
GRE words
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron, paradox, realm and 288 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for repudiate.
myth17 Repudiate the churlish administration. Aug 4, 2012
tolland This word is sooo good! Everyone should know it. Jul 11, 2008