1
as in to deny
to declare not to be true
he steadfastly disowned that he was having an affair
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to refuse
to refuse to acknowledge as one's own or as one's responsibility
the dictatorial father angrily disowned his rebellious son
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disown
When Mary won’t give up the baby, she’s disowned by patriarch Whitelaw (Ed Harris) and exiled to New Jersey from her family’s palatial Long Island estate.
—
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 18 Feb. 2026
Becket is broke, disowned and circling a family fortune that never wanted him.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 18 Feb. 2026
They may be cut off from financial resources, disowned, or stripped of personal property and communal safety nets.
—Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
In September 2025, it was revealed that Ferguson sent an email to Epstein apologizing for publicly disowning him in a March 2011 interview with the Evening Standard.
—Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for disown
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 18 Feb. 2026
Becket is broke, disowned and circling a family fortune that never wanted him.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 18 Feb. 2026
They may be cut off from financial resources, disowned, or stripped of personal property and communal safety nets.
—Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
In September 2025, it was revealed that Ferguson sent an email to Epstein apologizing for publicly disowning him in a March 2011 interview with the Evening Standard.
—Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for disown
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disown
Verb
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The medical providers Cole and Mosley accused denied wrongdoing.—
Jo Yurcaba,
NBC news,
16 May 2026
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Weinstein’s attorneys have denied that encounter ever took place, and have argued that the trial judge improperly withheld evidence that would have bolstered his alibi.—
Gene Maddaus,
Variety,
15 May 2026
Verb
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That’s still intense emotional and intellectual material for a mainstream TV series, but the Muschiettis, much like King, refuse to frame their work as an abstract allegory.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
19 May 2026
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DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng—a hedge fund billionaire who controls nearly the entire company—has spent years refusing outside money.—
Lily Mae Lazarus,
Fortune,
19 May 2026
Verb
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Libby Savill, the deputy chair of Southbank Centre, outright rejected the allegations.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
19 May 2026
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That could be fine if people knew when to rely on AIs and when to reject them.—
Gautam Mukunda,
Mercury News,
19 May 2026
Verb
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Cuban officials have angrily refuted the pressure campaign and promised to resist any military intervention with force.—
Patrick Oppmann,
CNN Money,
14 May 2026
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Cento refuted the claims made in the complaint and will seek dismissal of the lawsuit in court, a company spokesperson told The Times on Monday.—
Itzel Luna,
Chicago Tribune,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disown.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disown. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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