Abnegated

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have disregarded or set aside something, particularly a principle or indulgence
2. To have surrendered or forsworn one's own rights, comforts, or desires
3. To refuse or renounce something, such as a claim or belief ; to voluntarily relinquish personal privileges, comforts, or desires

Etymology: The verb "abnegate" first appears in English in 1657, and it comes from Latin "abnegare," meaning "to refuse" or "to reject." That Latin verb is built from "ab," meaning "away from," and "negare," meaning "to deny," so the core idea is literally a turning away from something. Dictionaries also note a second possibility: that English speakers formed "abnegate" backwards from the noun "abnegation," reversing the usual pattern in which verbs produce nouns. "Abnegated" is simply the past tense of "abnegate," so it means that someone gave up something, usually a right, claim, or pleasure, willingly. The word shares its Latin root "negare" with a large family of English words, including "negate," "negative," and "denial," which all carry that same sense of saying no.

Synonyms: renounced, rejected, relinquished

Antonyms: accepted, embraced