English Dictionary

Definition of “repudiate

repudiate (rɪˈpjuːdɪˌeɪtPronunciation for repudiate

Definitions

verb (tr)

  1. to reject the authority or validity of; refuse to accept or ratify  ⇒ Congress repudiated the treaty that the President had negotiated 
  2. to refuse to acknowledge or pay (a debt)
  3. to cast off or disown (a son, lover, etc)

Alternative Forms

reˈpudiable adjective reˌpudiˈation noun reˈpudiative adjective reˈpudiˌator noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin repudiāre  to put away, from repudium  a separation, divorce, from re- + pudēre to be ashamed

Usage examples

  • Women would repudiate her, and men would treat her like a prostitute.
    Adair, Tom (Intro), Three Kinds of Kissing - Scottish Short Stories (1993)
  • To say them would be to repudiate our current foreign policy, and that is impossible as long as he is in the cabinet.
    Globe and Mail (2003)
  • I repudiate this brutal killing in the strongest terms possible.
    Belfast Telegraph (2005)
  • At the same time, since he was identified as a Ricardian discipline, he could not openly repudiate that honest investigator.
    Henry, John F, The Making of Neoclassical Economics (1990)

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