abjure
/əb'dʤuə/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To formally and solemnly renounce or reject a belief, claim, or position that one previously held. This action is often done publicly and under pressure.
- To swear to give up or leave a place or country forever.
Usage
- Verb:
- The primary use is to describe a formal, often public, act of disavowal. It implies a final and decisive break from a previous stance, opinion, or allegiance.
- It is used with objects such as beliefs, opinions, rights, or allegiances.
Examples
- Verb:
- Under threat of excommunication, he was forced to abjure his heretical views.
- The witness abjured her earlier testimony, claiming it was made under duress.
- In the old tale, the knight was made to abjure the realm.
Advanced Usage
- "To abjure the realm": A historical legal phrase meaning to swear an oath to leave one's country forever, often to avoid a death sentence or other severe punishment.
- Faced with execution, the noble chose to abjure the realm and live in exile.
Variants and Related Words
- Abjuration (n): The act of abjuring; a formal renunciation.
- His abjuration of the throne shocked the nation.
- Abjurer (n): A person who abjures.
Synonyms
- Renounce: To give up, refuse, or resign, often formally.
- Forswear: To reject or renounce under oath.
- Recant: To formally withdraw or disavow a former statement or belief, especially a religious one.
- Retract: To take back or withdraw a statement or promise.
Antonyms
- Affirm: To state or assert positively; to confirm.
- Profess: To declare openly; to affirm one's faith in or allegiance to.
- Uphold: To support or maintain a principle or belief.
Related Phrases
- Abjure one's errors: To formally renounce one's mistakes or wrong beliefs.
- The scientist publicly abjured his errors after new evidence emerged.
Verb
- formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure
- He retracted his earlier statements about his religion
- She abjured her beliefs