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
Chelsea Bailey, CNN, 11 Mar. 2025
The conservative blueprint Project 2025, which Trump has sought to disavow, also has plans to cut expert staff from major agencies such as the EPA and replace them with political appointees.
—Ari Plachta, Sacramento Bee, 28 Feb. 2025
Billions lost Current and former CFPB employees have told CNBC that legal cases with upcoming docket dates would likely be dismissed as the agency disavows most of what Chopra has done.
—Hugh Son, CNBC, 27 Feb. 2025
In his first month, Trump performed a pirouette in foreign policy, disavowing the age-old commitment to defend fellow NATO members if they are attacked, reaching out to Russia and suspending most U.S. foreign aid.
—Calvin Woodward, Chicago Tribune, 22 Feb. 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 19 Mar. 2025.
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disavow
verb
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