Standard Lemma guide

renounce

noun · verb · 12 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ɹɪˈnaʊns/
  • rhymes with -aʊns
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: R IH0 N AW1 N S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An act of renouncing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: card-games, games

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To give up, resign, surrender.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • to renounce a title to land or to a throne

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: atsake

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To cast off, repudiate.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To decline further association with someone or something, disown.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: disown, repudiate, abjure, deny, disavow, disclaim, forsay, forswear, renounce, wash one's hands of

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To abandon, forsake, discontinue (an action, habit, intention, etc), sometimes by open declaration.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To make a renunciation of something.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

To surrender formally some right or trust.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

verb

Meaning 8

To fail to follow suit; playing a card of a different suit when having no card of the suit led.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Topics: card-games, games

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

verb

Meaning 9

cast off

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • She renounced her husband
  • The parents repudiated their son

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: disown, repudiate

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: reject

Narrower terms: apostatize, apostatise, tergiversate, abjure, recant, forswear, retract, resile, swallow, take back, unsay, withdraw, refute, rebut, deny

10

verb

Meaning 10

turn away from; give up

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • I am foreswearing women forever

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: foreswear, quit, relinquish

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: abandon, give up

Narrower terms: disclaim

11

verb

Meaning 11

leave (a job, post, or position) voluntarily

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • She vacated the position when she got pregnant
  • The chairman resigned when he was found to have misappropriated funds

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: vacate, resign, give up

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: leave office, quit, step down, resign

Narrower terms: abdicate, renounce

12

verb

Meaning 12

give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors, or duties and obligations

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The King abdicated when he married a divorcee

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: abdicate

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: vacate, resign, renounce, give up

History

Etymology

From Old French renoncier (French renoncer), from Latin renūntiō. Doublet of renunciate.

Across languages

Translations

111 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: отказвам се (otkazvam se) — give up
  • Bulgarian: предавам се (predavam se) — give up
  • Chinese Mandarin: 放棄 /放弃 (fàngqì) — give up
  • Czech: vzdát se — give up
  • Czech: zřeknout se — give up
  • Czech: zříci se — give up
  • Dutch: opgeven — give up
  • Esperanto: rezigni — give up
  • Finnish: luovuttaa — give up
  • Finnish: antaa periksi — give up
  • German: aufgeben — give up
  • Hungarian: lemond — give up
  • Hungarian: leköszön — give up
  • Hungarian: felad — give up
  • Irish: tabhair suas — give up
  • Italian: rinunciare — give up
  • Italian: abdicare — give up
  • Norwegian: forsake — give up
  • Norwegian: oppgi — give up
  • Romanian: lepăda — give up
  • Romanian: renunța — give up
  • Russian: сдава́ть (sdavátʹ) — give up
  • Russian: сда́ть (sdátʹ) — give up
  • Russian: отка́зываться от (otkázyvatʹsja ot) — give up
  • Russian: отказа́ться от (otkazátʹsja ot) — give up
  • Serbo-Croatian: odustati — give up
  • Spanish: delejar — give up
  • Spanish: renunciar — give up
  • Spanish: renunciar a — give up
  • Spanish: abjurar — give up
  • Spanish: abrenunciar — give up
  • Swedish: avsäga sig — give up
  • Tamil: துற (tuṟa) — give up
  • Vietnamese: từ bỏ — give up
  • Arabic: تَبَرَّأَ مِنْ (tabarraʔa min) — decline association with
  • Azerbaijani: danmaq — decline association with
  • Bulgarian: отричам се (otričam se) — decline association with
  • Chinese Mandarin: 斷絕 /断绝關係 /关系 (duànjué) — decline association with
  • Chinese Mandarin: 断绝关系 (duànjué) — decline association with
  • Czech: zřeknout se — decline association with
  • Czech: zříci se — decline association with
  • Czech: zapudit — decline association with
  • Czech: zavrhnout — decline association with
  • Esperanto: malkonfesi — decline association with
  • Estonian: lahti ütlema — decline association with
  • Finnish: kieltää — decline association with
  • German: verleugnen — decline association with
  • German: desavouieren — decline association with
  • German: abstreiten — decline association with
  • German: nichts mehr wissen wollen — decline association with
  • Hungarian: kitagad — decline association with
  • Italian: ricusare — decline association with
  • Latin: renuntio — decline association with
  • Norwegian: avsverge — decline association with
  • Norwegian: fornekte — decline association with
  • Romanian: renunța — decline association with
  • Russian: отрека́ться (otrekátʹsja) — decline association with
  • Russian: отре́чься (otréčʹsja) — decline association with
  • Russian: отверга́ть (otvergátʹ) — decline association with
  • Russian: отве́ргнуть (otvérgnutʹ) — decline association with
  • Sanskrit: जहाति (jahāti) — decline association with
  • Scottish Gaelic: àicheidh — decline association with
  • Serbo-Croatian: otkazati — decline association with
  • Spanish: repudiar — decline association with
  • Tamil: துற (tuṟa) — decline association with
  • Bulgarian: изоставям (izostavjam) — abandon, forsake an action
  • Finnish: hylätä — abandon, forsake an action
  • Finnish: luopua — abandon, forsake an action
  • German: aufgeben — abandon, forsake an action
  • Hungarian: elhagy — abandon, forsake an action
  • Hungarian: lemond — abandon, forsake an action
  • Hungarian: felad — abandon, forsake an action
  • Hungarian: megszüntet — abandon, forsake an action
  • Hungarian: abbahagy — abandon, forsake an action
  • Hungarian: felhagy — abandon, forsake an action
  • Hungarian: megtagad — abandon, forsake an action
  • Irish: tréig — abandon, forsake an action
  • Old Irish: do·beir druimm fri — abandon, forsake an action
  • Italian: abbandonare — abandon, forsake an action
  • Norwegian: gi avkall — abandon, forsake an action
  • Norwegian: renonsere — abandon, forsake an action
  • Romanian: abandona — abandon, forsake an action
  • Russian: отступа́ться (otstupátʹsja) — abandon, forsake an action
  • Russian: отступи́ться (otstupítʹsja) — abandon, forsake an action
  • Sanskrit: जहाति (jahāti) — abandon, forsake an action
  • Serbo-Croatian: napustiti — abandon, forsake an action
  • Serbo-Croatian: dići ruke — abandon, forsake an action
  • Tamil: துற (tuṟa) — abandon, forsake an action
  • Tocharian B: ār- — abandon, forsake an action
  • Danish: give afkald — make renunciation
  • Dutch: verzaken (aan) — make renunciation
  • Finnish: mitätöidä — make renunciation
  • German: verzichten — make renunciation
  • Italian: rinunciare — make renunciation
  • Czech: zřeknout se — surrender a right or trust
  • Czech: zříci se — surrender a right or trust
  • Czech: vzdát se — surrender a right or trust
  • Finnish: luopua — surrender a right or trust
  • German: verzichten — surrender a right or trust
  • Hungarian: lemond — surrender a right or trust
  • Italian: arrendersi — surrender a right or trust
  • Norwegian: frasi — surrender a right or trust
  • Norwegian: gi avkall — surrender a right or trust
  • Norwegian: renonsere — surrender a right or trust
  • Russian: отка́зываться (otkázyvatʹsja) — surrender a right or trust
  • Russian: отказа́ться (otkazátʹsja) — surrender a right or trust
  • Serbo-Croatian: odustati — surrender a right or trust
  • Serbo-Croatian: predati se — surrender a right or trust
  • Bulgarian: правя ренонс (pravja renons) — fail to follow suit for not having it
  • Dutch: verzaken — fail to follow suit for not having it
  • Finnish: sakata — fail to follow suit for not having it