Renounce

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈnaʊns/

Definitions

1. To formally declare one's abandonment of a claim, right, belief, or course of action
2. To officially give up a legal claim, right, or privilege ; to openly reject or disown a belief, opinion, or ideology
3. To relinquish a recognized entitlement or position through an official statement ; to announce a refusal to continue supporting a previously held belief or doctrine

Etymology: The verb "renounce" began life as a legal and ceremonial act rather than a moral one. Its Latin ancestor, "renuntiare", meant to report back or announce something, as a messenger might bring word home. The prefix "re-" signals return, and "nuntiare" means to announce, the same root that gives us "announce" and "nuncio" (a papal envoy). So at its root, renouncing was a kind of reporting: you declared your position publicly. From that announcing sense the word moved through Old French "renoncier" and developed the notion of formally disowning something, such as a claim, a title or a faith. Over time the emphasis shifted from the declaration itself to the giving up it announced, which is why the modern verb carries the idea of surrendering something rather than simply saying it. English took the word from French, and it sits alongside "renunciate", a doublet that came into English from the same Latin source through a different route and is now rare.

Synonyms: relinquish, abandon, reject

Antonyms: claim, accept