renounce

[ ri-nouns ]
See synonyms for: renouncerenouncedrenouncing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),re·nounced, re·nounc·ing.
  1. to give up or put aside voluntarily: to renounce worldly pleasures.

  2. to give up by formal declaration: to renounce a claim.

  1. to repudiate; disown: to renounce one's son.

verb (used without object),re·nounced, re·nounc·ing.
  1. Cards.

    • to play a card of a different suit from that led.

    • to abandon or give up a suit led.

    • to fail to follow the suit led.

noun
  1. Cards. an act or instance of renouncing.

Origin of renounce

1
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English renouncen, from Middle French renoncer, from Latin renūntiāre “to bring back word, disclaim,” equivalent to re-re- + nūntiāre “to announce,” derivative of nūntius “messenger, news”

synonym study For renounce

1. See abandon.

Other words for renounce

Opposites for renounce

Other words from renounce

  • re·nounce·a·ble, re·nun·ci·a·ble [ruh-nuhn-see-uh-buhl, -shee-], /rəˈnʌn si ə bəl, -ʃi-/, adjective
  • re·nounce·ment, noun
  • re·nounc·er, noun
  • non·re·nounc·ing, adjective
  • self-re·nounced, adjective
  • self-re·nounce·ment, noun
  • self-re·nounc·ing, adjective
  • un·re·nounce·a·ble, adjective
  • un·re·nounced, adjective
  • un·re·nounc·ing, adjective
  • un·re·nun·ci·a·ble, adjective

Words that may be confused with renounce

Words Nearby renounce

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use renounce in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for renounce

renounce

/ (rɪˈnaʊns) /


verb
  1. (tr) to give up (a claim or right), esp by formal announcement: to renounce a title

  2. (tr) to repudiate: to renounce Christianity

  1. (tr) to give up (some habit, pursuit, etc) voluntarily: to renounce smoking

  2. (intr) cards to fail to follow suit because one has no cards of the suit led

noun
  1. rare a failure to follow suit in a card game

Origin of renounce

1
C14: from Old French renoncer, from Latin renuntiāre to disclaim, from re- + nuntiāre to announce, from nuntius messenger

Derived forms of renounce

  • renouncement, noun
  • renouncer, noun

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