disavow
verb
Dan Chu
Did you know?
When is a vow not a vow? When it has been disavowed, for one. Let’s say you make a solemn pledge to eat green vegetables every day of the week and twice on Sundays. If a few months down the cruciferous road you decide such a diet is for the rabbits, you might disavow (that is, repudiate or deny responsibility for) your earlier vow. Or perhaps you stick to it, going so far as to eat nothing but brassicas 24/7. Well, in that case, your local chapter of the Carnivore’s Club might illustrate another meaning of disavow by disavowing you (refusing to acknowledge or accept you) as a member any longer. Now when is a vow not avow? You might be surprised to learn that vow and avow/disavow are not related. Though all three words came to English from Latin via Anglo-French, they have distinct roots: vow comes from the Latin verb vovēre, meaning “to vow,” while avow and disavow trace back to the verb advocare, meaning “to summon.” We stand by it: there’s no denying that disavow has history.
Examples of disavow in a Sentence
Mikal Gilmore, Rolling Stone, 30 Mar. 2025
That group has disavowed violence and property destruction.
—Kevin Collier, NBC news, 21 Mar. 2025
Meanwhile, current owners are embracing bumper stickers disavowing themselves of Musk's rightward turn.
—Nathan Bomey, Axios, 21 Mar. 2025
The movement also was tainted by instances of rampant antisemitism, which Khalil disavowed.
—Chelsea Bailey, Gloria Pazmino and Taylor Galgano, CNN, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for disavow
Cite this Entry
“Disavow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disavow. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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disavow
verb
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