1
as in denying
to declare not to be true
he steadfastly disowned that he was having an affair
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in refusing
to refuse to acknowledge as one's own or as one's responsibility
the dictatorial father angrily disowned his rebellious son
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disowning
The pastor approaches the line without fully disenchanting; a magician drawing attention to the trick without disowning its power.
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Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
Emails published on the Mail on Sunday revealed Ferguson apologized to Epstein weeks after publicly disowning him, back in 2011.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 30 Nov. 2025
Extended family members of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller are disowning him, according to his cousin.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
Maximum Overdrive, the only movie that King directed, is eligible… but King himself joined the chorus of harsh critics, disowning it and never again returning to the director’s chair .
—James Grebey, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disowning
Verb
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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell released a video statement on Sunday night denying criminal wrongdoing shortly after the Department of Justice opened an investigation into him.—
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The vaccine misinformation advanced by the president and his science-denying Secretary of Health and Human Services is taking its toll on vaccination rates.—
Verb
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By March, school districts across California are supposed to implement new guidance from the attorney general, including by clearly marking non-public areas and codifying a system for refusing access to immigration officers.—
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On the play before his score, Allen gained 10 yards on a sneak, refusing to go down while being pushed and pulled to the goal line.—
Verb
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Two in 5 Gen Zers are pursuing blue-collar work, rejecting the collegiate path and learning trades, according to a May 2025 survey of 1,434 young adults by Resume Builder.—
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And the British nations, as ever, remained aloof, England rejecting a late offer to step in for Austria.—
Verb
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The film spends the next hour and 50 minutes refuting that idea.—
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Michaels took to her Instagram days after the release of Fit for TV to post a series of screenshots of text chains, email threads, and other pieces of documentation refuting or otherwise complicating each claim leveled at her.—
Cite this Entry
“Disowning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disowning. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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