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re·pu·di·ate

(rĭ-pydē-āt′)

tr.v. re·pu·di·at·ed, re·pu·di·at·ing, re·pu·di·ates

1. To reject the validity or authority of: "Chaucer ... not only came to doubt the worth of his extraordinary body of work, but repudiated it" (Joyce Carol Oates).

2. To reject emphatically as unfounded, untrue, or unjust: repudiated the accusation.

3. To refuse to recognize or pay: repudiate a debt.

a. To disown (a child, for example).

b. To refuse to have any dealings with.

[Latin repudiāre, repudiāt-, from repudium, divorce.]

re·pudi·a′tive adj.

re·pudi·a′tor n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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