Meaning & use

renounce

verb·Academic

To formally give up a right, title, belief, or course of action, usually in a public way.

See it in a sentence

The prince renounced his claim to the throne to marry a commoner.

After years of activism, she renounced violence entirely as a means of protest.

A note on using this word

Renounce implies a deliberate, often public, break with something previously held; it is stronger and more formal than simply stop or quit.

Words with a similar meaning

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Words with an opposite meaning

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