Meaning of renounce in English
Table of contents
Verb
renounceEtymology
late Middle English: from Old French renoncer, from Latin renuntiare‘protest against’, from re- (expressing reversal) + nuntiare‘announce’Definitions
1. give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors, or duties and obligationsExamples
- « The King abdicated when he married a divorcee »
Derived terms
- 2. leave (a job, post, post, or position) voluntarily
Examples
- « She vacated the position when she got pregnant »
- « The chairman resigned when he was found to have misappropriated funds »
Derived terms
- 3. turn away from
Examples
- « give up »
- « I am foreswearing women forever »
Derived terms
- 4. cast off or disown
Examples
- « She renounced her husband »
- « The parents repudiated their son »
Derived terms
Famous quotes
- « Alaska is what happens when Willy Wonka and the witch from Hansel and Gretel elope, buy a place together upstate, renounce their sweet teeth, and turn into health fanatics. » Sloane Crosley
- « Experience is a revelation in the light of which we renounce our errors of youth for those of age. » Ambrose Bierce
- « It was in our power to cause the Arab governments to renounce the policy of strength toward Israel by turning it into a demonstration of weakness. » Moshe Dayan
- « The best people renounce all for one goal, the eternal fame of mortals but most people stuff themselves like cattle. » Heraclitus
- « No one who has lived even for a fleeting moment for something other than life in its conventional sense and has experienced the exaltation that this feeling produces can then renounce his new freedom so easily. » Andre Breton