abjuration
/,æbdʤuə'reiʃn/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A formal renunciation or disavowal: The act of solemnly and formally rejecting, recanting, or taking back a previous statement, belief, or allegiance, often under oath.
Usage
- Abjuration is a formal, often legal or religious, term. It describes a public, deliberate, and final act of giving something up, such as a claim, an opinion, or a faith.
- It is commonly used in historical, legal, or theological contexts to describe a solemn recantation.
Examples
- The heretic's abjuration of his doctrines was demanded by the inquisition.
- Under pressure, the witness signed a document of abjuration, retracting his earlier testimony.
- The king demanded an abjuration of all foreign allegiances from his new subjects.
Advanced Usage
- "To make an abjuration": To formally perform the act of renouncing.
- The captured spy was forced to make a public abjuration of his country.
- "Abjuration of the realm" (Historical Legal Term): A sworn oath to leave a country forever, often as an alternative to a death sentence or prolonged imprisonment.
- He chose abjuration of the realm over execution.
Variants and Related Words
- Abjure (verb): To renounce or reject solemnly and formally.
- He abjured his former beliefs.
- Abjurer (noun): A person who abjures.
Synonyms
- Renunciation: The formal rejection of something.
- Recantation: A statement that one no longer holds a former opinion or belief.
- Retraction: The action of withdrawing a statement or accusation.
- Repudiation: Rejection of something as invalid or untrue.
Antonyms
- Affirmation: A declaration that something is true.
- Assertion: A confident and forceful statement of fact or belief.
- Avowal: An open statement of affirmation or acknowledgment.
Notes
- Abjuration often implies a renunciation made under oath, compulsion, or to avoid penalty, distinguishing it from a simple change of mind.
- It is closely associated with historical contexts involving heresy, allegiance, and legal oaths.
Noun
- a disavowal or taking back of a previous assertion