disown

verb

dis·​own (ˌ)dis-ˈōn 

disowned; disowning; disowns

transitive verb

1

: to refuse to acknowledge as one's own

2

a

: to repudiate any connection or identification with

b

: to deny the validity or authority of

disownment

(ˌ)dis-ˈōn-mənt 

noun

Synonyms

• contradict
• deny
• disaffirm
• disallow
• disavow
• disclaim
• disconfirm
• gainsay
• negate
• negative
• refute
• reject
• repudiate

Examples of disown in a Sentence

Her parents threatened to disown her if she didn't go back to school.

He was disowned for bringing shame to the family.

Recent Examples on the Web

Virdee stars Staz Nair as a Bradford cop hunting down a serial killer, as his own life is in chaos after he is disowned by his family for crossing the religious divide when marrying his wife. —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2024

But Drake’s mentions of Future — who joined the Toronto rapper on 2015’s What a Time to Be Alive before, confusingly, seeming to disown it — are curiously limp. —Paul Thompson, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2024

This fear can quickly translate into passively or actively disowning the changes. —Peter Follows, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024

When his older brother, Fred Jr. (Charlie Carrick), spurned the family business to follow his dream of becoming a pilot, their father all but disowned him. —EW.com, 3 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

disown

verb

dis·​own (ˈ)dis-ˈōn 

: to refuse to accept any longer as one's own : renounce, disclaim