Abjured

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əbˈdʒʊəd/

Definitions

1. Formally rejected or renounced a belief, cause, or claim, often under oath or with solemnity
2. Publicly abandoned a previously held opinion or stance, especially in a formal or legal context
3. Officially disavowed a belief or statement, indicating a clear withdrawal or refusal to accept it

Etymology: Abjure carries a sharp sense of oath-bound renunciation: to swear off a belief or claim, often publicly. Its Latin ancestor, "abiurare," combined "ab-" meaning "away from" with "iurare," "to swear an oath," so the word literally meant to swear away from something. Latin speakers used it for denying a debt or disowning a claim under oath, and the solemn, sworn quality stayed attached to the word as it moved through Old French and Anglo-Norman into Middle English. The word reached English as "abjuren" in the Late Middle English period, when it meant to give something up or recant it under oath. The verb "abjured" is simply its past tense, and its sense has narrowed over time toward formally renouncing a faith, cause, or principle. Its roots reach back to the Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew-, linked to ideas of rightness and law, which is a fitting ancestor for a word about swearing true.

Synonyms: renounced, rejected, retracted

Antonyms: embraced, accepted