repudiate Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb cast off
    disown; renounce.
    • She renounced her husband
    • The parents repudiated their son
  2. verb refuse to acknowledge, ratify, or recognize as valid
    • The woman repudiated the divorce settlement
  3. verb refuse to recognize or pay
    • repudiate a debt
  4. verb reject as untrue, unfounded, or unjust
    • She repudiated the accusations

WordNet

Re*pu"di*ate transitive verb
Etymology
L. repudiatus, p. p. of repudiare to repudiate, reject, fr. repudium separation, divorce; pref. re- re- + pudere to be ashamed.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Repudiated present participle & verbal noun Repudiating
Definitions
  1. To cast off; to disavow; to have nothing to do with; to renounce; to reject.
    Servitude is to be repudiated with greater care. Prynne.
  2. To divorce, put away, or discard, as a wife, or a woman one has promised to marry.
    His separation from Terentis, whom he repudiated not long afterward. Bolingbroke.
  3. To refuse to acknowledge or to pay; to disclaim; as, the State has repudiated its debts.

Webster 1913