renege

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitive

   To fail to keep a promise, agreement, or commitment.

   Grammar: No object; must be followed by on: renege on a deal, not *renege a deal.

   Patterns

   • renege on a promise
   • renege on a deal
   • renege on a contract
   • renege on an agreement

   The company reneged on its promise to raise wages.

   You can't renege on the deal now; we already signed the contract.

   The landlord reneged on the agreement to repaint the flat.

2. 2verbintransitivespecialist

   In card games such as bridge, to break the rules by failing to follow the suit that was led.

   Grammar: No object; names a rule violation in bridge and whist.

   Patterns

   • renege in a game

   He reneged by playing a diamond instead of a heart.

   If you renege by accident, you must correct the trick when it is noticed.

Word forms

Common combinations

renege on a promise

Voters punish politicians who renege on their promises.

renege on a deal

The buyer reneged on the deal at the last minute.

renege on a contract

The club was fined after reneging on its contract with the coach.

Synonyms and how they differ

back out

A phrasal verb meaning to withdraw; usually back out of, and it covers any retreat, not only broken promises.

default

To fail to meet a duty, especially to pay money; formal and common in finance and law.

break

Transitive: it needs an object (break a promise); renege is intransitive and pairs with on.

betray

Stronger; it adds the idea of being disloyal to a person, not just failing to keep terms.

Opposites

Commonly confused: renege or renegade?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “renege”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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