repudiate

American

[ri-pyoo-dee-eyt] / rɪˈpyu diˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

repudiated, repudiating

to reject as having no authority or binding force.

to repudiate a claim.

Synonyms:

disclaim, discard, disavow

Antonyms:

accept
to cast off or disown.

to repudiate a son.
to reject with disapproval or condemnation.

to repudiate a new doctrine.

Synonyms:

disapprove, condemn, disown, renounce

Antonyms:

approve
to reject with denial.

to repudiate a charge as untrue.
to refuse to acknowledge and pay (a debt), as a state, municipality, etc.

repudiate British

/ rɪˈpjuːdɪˌeɪt /

verb

to reject the authority or validity of; refuse to accept or ratify

Congress repudiated the treaty that the President had negotiated
to refuse to acknowledge or pay (a debt)
to cast off or disown (a son, lover, etc)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

nonrepudiable adjective
nonrepudiative adjective
repudiable adjective
repudiation noun
repudiative adjective
repudiator noun
unrepudiable adjective
unrepudiated adjective
unrepudiative adjective

Etymology

Origin of repudiate

First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin repudiātus (past participle of repudiāre “to reject, refuse”), equivalent to repudi(um) “a casting off, divorce” ( re- + pud(ere) “to make ashamed, feel shame” + -ium noun suffix ) + -ātus past participle sufffix; re-, pudendum, -ium, -ate ¹

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023