disclaim

disclaim, disavow, repudiate, disown, disallow mean to refuse to admit, accept, or approve.

Disclaim implies re-fusal to admit or accept a claim, but it may apply specifically to a legal claim one has upon property or to a title

{

the son disclaimed all right to his father's small estate

}

or to the claim or imputation of something evil made by another to one's chagrin or dismay

{

this court disclaims all pretensions to such a power— John Marshall

}

{

I entirely disclaim the hatred and hostility to Turks . . . which you ascribe to me— Gladstone

}

or, even more frequently, to the implied or expressed praise of oneself by another

{

Mark was embarrassed by the Rector's talking like this; but if he disclaimed the virtues attributed to him he should . . . give an impression of false modesty— Mackenzie

}

Disavow often comes close to disclaim in meaning, but it much less often implies reference to a legal claim and fastens the attention upon a vigorous denial either of personal responsibility for something or personal acceptance or approval of something

{

Melfort never disavowed these papers— Macaulay

}

{

the boys disavowed any intention to set the stable on fire

}

{

this Court always had disavowed the right to intrude its judgment upon questions of policy or morals— Justice Holmes

}

Repudiate originally applied to a casting away of one's wife (see also repudiate under DECLINE); it may also imply a casting off or a denial of responsibility for something that has been previously acknowledged, recognized, or accepted

{

they repudiated their heresies

}

{

the state has repudiated its debts

}

{

a law which everyone recognizes in fact, though everyone re-pudiates it in theory— Dickinson

}

{

the liberal mind . . . had repudiated the doctrine of original sin— Straight

}

Disown usually stresses a repudiation or renunciation and often applies to something that has stood in close relationship to the person disowning; it may specifically imply disinheritance or abjuration

{

disowned his son

}

{

disowned his allegiance to the country of his birth

}

{

the prince . . . was . . . required to disown ... the obligations contracted in his name— Froude

}

Disallow implies the withholding of sanction or approval and sometimes suggests complete rejection or condemnation

{

disallowed the jockey's claim of a foul

}

{

disallow a bill for the entertainment of the officers

}

{

it was known that the most eminent of those who professed his own principles, publicly disallowed his proceedings— Swift

}

{

your claim upon her hand is already disallowed— G. P. R. James

}

Analogous words: *deny, gainsay, traverse, contradict: reject, refuse, spurn (see DECLINE): deprecate (see DISAPPROVE): belittle, minimize, disparage (see DECRY)

Antonyms: claim