recant — re·cant /ri kant/ vt: to renounce or withdraw (prior statements or testimony) surprised the prosecution by recant ing statements made earlier to the police vi: to renounce or withdraw prior statements or testimony re·can·ta·tion /ˌrē ˌkan tā… … Law dictionary
Recant — Re*cant (r[ e]*k[a^]nt ), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Recanted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Recanting}.] [L. recantare, recantatum, to recall, recant; pref. re re + cantare to sing, to sound. See 3d {Cant}, {Chant}.] To withdraw or repudiate formally and publicly … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Recant — Re*cant , v. i. To revoke a declaration or proposition; to unsay what has been said; to retract; as, convince me that I am wrong, and I will recant. Dryden. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
recant — (v.) 1530s, from L. recantare recall, revoke, from re back (see RE (Cf. re )) + cantare to chant (see CANT (Cf. cant) (1)). A word from the Reformation. Loan translation of Gk. palinoidein recant, from palin back + … Etymology dictionary
recant — retract, *abjure, renounce, forswear Analogous words: withdraw, remove … New Dictionary of Synonyms
recant — [v] take back something said abjure, abnegate, abrogate, annul, apostatize, back down, back off, back out, backtrack*, call back, cancel, contradict, countermand, deny, dial back*, disavow, disclaim, disown, eat one’s words*, forswear, go back on … New thesaurus
recant — ► VERB ▪ renounce a former opinion or belief. DERIVATIVES recantation noun. ORIGIN Latin recantare revoke , from cantare sing, chant … English terms dictionary
recant — [ri kant′] vt., vi. [L recantare < re , back, again + cantare, freq. of canere, to sing: see CHANT] to withdraw or renounce (beliefs or statements formerly held), esp. in a formal or public manner recantation [rē΄kan tā′shən] n. recanter n … English World dictionary
recant — verb 1) he was forced to recant his political beliefs Syn: renounce, disavow, deny, repudiate, renege on; formal forswear, abjure 2) he refused to recant Syn: change one s mind, be apostate; rare tergiversate 3) … Thesaurus of popular words
recant — [[t]rɪkæ̱nt[/t]] recants, recanting, recanted VERB If you recant, you say publicly that you no longer hold a set of beliefs that you had in the past. [FORMAL] Alarmed by the furor the letter created, White House officials ordered Williams to… … English dictionary
recant — UK [rɪˈkænt] / US verb [intransitive/transitive] Word forms recant : present tense I/you/we/they recant he/she/it recants present participle recanting past tense recanted past participle recanted formal 1) to say that something you said was not… … English dictionary
