repudiate
VerbWordNet 3.0
Verb (4)
- cast off“She renounced her husband”“The parents repudiated their son”Synonyms: disownrenounce
- refuse to acknowledge, ratify, or recognize as valid“The woman repudiated the divorce settlement”
- refuse to recognize or pay“repudiate a debt”
- reject as untrue, unfounded, or unjust“She repudiated the accusations”
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Repudiate \Re*pu"di*ate\ (r[-e]*p[=u]"d[i^]*[=a]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Repudiated (-?`t?d); p. pr. & vb. n. Repudiating.] [L. repudiatus, p. p. of repudiare to repudiate, reject, fr. repudium separation, divorce; pref. re- re- + pudere to be ashamed.] [1913 Webster]
1.To cast off; to disavow; to have nothing to do with; to renounce; to reject. [1913 Webster]
Servitude is to be repudiated with greater care.— Prynne.[1913 Webster]
2.To divorce, put away, or discard, as a wife, or a woman one has promised to marry. [1913 Webster]
His separation from Terentis, whom he repudiated not long afterward.— Bolingbroke.[1913 Webster]
3.To refuse to acknowledge or to pay; to disclaim; as, the State has repudiated its debts. [1913 Webster]