avowed
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- avowedly adverb
- avowedness noun
- self-avowed adjective
- unavowed adjective
Etymology
Origin of avowed
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at avow, -ed 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As a cleric in his 20s, he encountered Khomeini, a charismatic religious leader and avowed opponent of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2026
Doing so, the president avowed, would be unsportsmanlike.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
Rodriguez has the avowed loyalty of Venezuela's military and state institutions: her brother is the influential head of parliament.
From Barron's • Jan. 7, 2026
My father is an avowed Luddite and still sends me newspaper clippings attached to handwritten notes through the mail.
From Slate • Aug. 19, 2025
“You claim to be fighting oppression, but you spend more of your time fighting each other than in fighting your avowed enemies.”
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
