Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To disclaim knowledge of, responsibility for, or association with.
  • transitive verb To assert to be wrong or of little value.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To disown; disclaim knowledge of, responsibility for, or connection with; repudiate; deny concurrence in or approval of; refuse to own or acknowledge; disclaim.
  • To deny; disprove.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To refuse strongly and solemnly to own or acknowledge; to deny responsibility for, approbation of, and the like; to disclaim; to disown.
  • transitive verb To deny; to show the contrary of; to disprove.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To refuse strongly and solemnly to own or acknowledge; to deny responsibility for, approbation of, and the like; to disclaim; to disown.
  • verb To deny; to show the contrary of; to disprove.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb refuse to acknowledge; disclaim knowledge of; responsibility for, or association with

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English disavowen, from Old French desavouer : des-, dis- + avouer, to avow; see avow.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From dis- + avow or from Old French desavouer.

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Examples

  • Then, as now, the issue was the Palestinians' maximalist demands and the refusal of the State Department to insist that the Palestinians "disavow" an agenda that would spell the demise of the Jewish state.

    Irving Kristol still persuades Jennifer Rubin 2011

  • I have to say, as a Die Hard Mode fan, that Just Can't Get Enough is one of the tracks I kind of disavow a little ...

    Crap cover versions Not a sheep 2009

  • He's not going to 'disavow' it, whatever that means in this context.

    Is Bobby Jindal -- Who May Be On McCain's Veep Shortlist -- An Exorcist? 2009

  • "He needs to 'disavow' that community and its leaders entirely!" many will decry.

    Edward J. Murray: The Obama Dilemma 2008

  • Of course, St John will "disavow" every single smear and the press will give him credit for being a stand up guy.

    Hullabaloo 2008

  • In answer to another question, she said she didn't know if any 9-11 Truthers were on her staff, and she wouldn't "disavow" (Beck's term) anyone for their opinion on that topic.

    Republic Broadcasting Network admin 2010

  • Positioned on the other side of the argument is the Association of National Advertisers, which has asked the commission to "disavow" any effort to add commercials to the content ratings menu, saying that Congress 'instruction to the FCC to conduct a study was not be treated as an "invitation to regulate."

    Multichannel News: Breaking News 2009

  • Positioned on the other side of the argument is the Association of National Advertisers, which has asked the commission to "disavow" any effort to add commercials to the content ratings menu, saying that Congress 'instruction to the FCC to conduct a study was not be treated as an "invitation to regulate."

    Multichannel News: Breaking News 2009

  • His appeal mischaracterizes Robinson's actions, claiming the judge was "offended" that Kerik's supporters "had proclaimed his innocence and criticized the prosecution prior to the plea, and Mr. Kerik did not 'disavow' these statements. ...

    Len Levitt: Standing Up for Bernie Kerik Len Levitt 2010

  • 'disavow' any advisers known to hold certain beliefs about 9/11.

    Prison Planet.com admin 2010

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  • כָּפַר, הִתְכַּחֵשׁ, הִתְנַעֵר

    Eating Animals

    July 11, 2010