Recant

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɹəˈkænt/

Definitions

1. To formally withdraw or deny a previously held belief, opinion, or statement, often under pressure or due to changed conviction
2. To publicly retract or renounce a previously expressed belief, claim, or opinion, typically as a result of new evidence or influence
3. The act of withdrawing support for an assertion or belief that was once upheld, often due to external factors or personal reflection

Etymology: The verb "recant" carries a sense of sung repetition in its Latin ancestor. Its source, "recantare," meant "to sing back, reecho, sing again," and could also mean "to charm back or away." Built from "re-" ("back") and "canto" ("to chant, to sing"), the Latin word gradually acquired its legal and moral sense of calling something back, revoking it. English first recorded the word in 1535, so a sixteenth-century writer reaching for "recant" was borrowing a term that once described a bird repeating its song. The path into English ran through Latin and then Old French, which is why the spelling and sound look more French than the Latin original might suggest. The core idea of taking something back stayed constant throughout: a claim is sung out, and then it is sung back.

Synonyms: retract, withdraw, disavow

Antonyms: affirm, confirm, assert