recant

withdraw or disavow; revoke, rescind, deny: He recanted his confession.

Not to be confused with:

cant – insincere; the private language of the underworld; phraseology peculiar to a particular class or profession: the cant of the fashion industry; whining or singsong speech, esp. of beggars; hypocrisy, sham, pretense, humbug

can't – contraction of cannot

re·cant

(rĭ-kănt′)

v. re·cant·ed, re·cant·ing, re·cants

v.tr.

To make a formal retraction or disavowal of (a statement or belief to which one has previously committed oneself).

v.intr.

To make a formal retraction or disavowal of a previously held statement or belief.

[Latin recantāre : re-, re- + cantāre, to sing, frequentative of canere; see kan- in Indo-European roots.]

re′can·ta′tion (rē′kăn-tā′shən) n.

re·cant′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

recant

(rɪˈkænt)

to repudiate or withdraw (a former belief or statement), esp formally in public

[C16: from Latin recantāre to sing again, from re- + cantāre to sing; see chant]

recantation n

reˈcanter n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

re•cant

(rɪˈkænt)

v.t.

1. to withdraw or disavow (a statement, opinion, etc.), esp. formally; retract.

v.i.

2. to withdraw or disavow a statement, opinion, etc.

[1525–35; < Latin recantāre to sing again]

re•can•ta•tion (ˌri kænˈteɪ ʃən) n.

recant

- Can mean "sing again"; its usual meaning stresses the withdrawing or denying of something professed or taught.

recant

Past participle: recanted
Gerund: recanting

Imperative
recant
recant

Present
I recant
you recant
he/she/it recants
we recant
you recant
they recant

Preterite
I recanted
you recanted
he/she/it recanted
we recanted
you recanted
they recanted

Present Continuous
I am recanting
you are recanting
he/she/it is recanting
we are recanting
you are recanting
they are recanting

Present Perfect
I have recanted
you have recanted
he/she/it has recanted
we have recanted
you have recanted
they have recanted

Past Continuous
I was recanting
you were recanting
he/she/it was recanting
we were recanting
you were recanting
they were recanting

Past Perfect
I had recanted
you had recanted
he/she/it had recanted
we had recanted
you had recanted
they had recanted

Future
I will recant
you will recant
he/she/it will recant
we will recant
you will recant
they will recant

Future Perfect
I will have recanted
you will have recanted
he/she/it will have recanted
we will have recanted
you will have recanted
they will have recanted

Future Continuous
I will be recanting
you will be recanting
he/she/it will be recanting
we will be recanting
you will be recanting
they will be recanting

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been recanting
you have been recanting
he/she/it has been recanting
we have been recanting
you have been recanting
they have been recanting

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been recanting
you will have been recanting
he/she/it will have been recanting
we will have been recanting
you will have been recanting
they will have been recanting

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been recanting
you had been recanting
he/she/it had been recanting
we had been recanting
you had been recanting
they had been recanting

Conditional
I would recant
you would recant
he/she/it would recant
we would recant
you would recant
they would recant

Past Conditional
I would have recanted
you would have recanted
he/she/it would have recanted
we would have recanted
you would have recanted
they would have recanted

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Verb

recant - formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure; "He retracted his earlier statements about his religion"; "She abjured her beliefs"

abjure, forswear, retract, resile

repudiate, disown, renounce - cast off; "She renounced her husband"; "The parents repudiated their son"

recant

verb withdraw, take back, retract, disclaim, deny, recall, renounce, revoke, repudiate, renege, disown, disavow, forswear, abjure, unsay, apostatize a man who refused after torture to recant his heresy
insist, maintain, repeat, uphold, reiterate, reaffirm, profess, restate

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

recant

verb

To disavow (something previously written or said) irrevocably and usually formally:

abjure, recall, retract, take back, withdraw.

Translations

abjurer

ripudiare

recant

[rɪˈkænt]

A. VT → retractar, desdecir

B. VI → retractarse, desdecirse

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

recant

[rɪˈkænt] vi (gen) → se rétracter (RELIGION) → abjurer

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

recant

vt religious belief → widerrufen; statement also → zurücknehmen

vi → widerrufen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

recant

[rɪˈkænt] (frm)

1. vt (religious belief) → abiurare; (statement) → ritrattare

2. vi → fare abiura

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

And, which is most of all, you shall have of them, that will suffer for atheism, and not recant; whereas if they did truly think, that there were no such thing as God, why should they trouble themselves?

View in context

``How's this, Jew?'' said the Friar, with a menacing aspect; ``dost thou recant, Jew?

View in context

Why, why am I to recant and accept the Rodgers' articles now?" There is no help for it; the faithful proselytizer, if she cannot convince by argument, bursts into tears, and the refusant finds himself, at the end of the contest, taking down the bolus, and saying, "Well, well, Rodgers' be it."

View in context

But say I could repent and could obtaine By Act of Grace my former state; how soon Would highth recal high thoughts, how soon unsay What feign'd submission swore: ease would recant Vows made in pain, as violent and void.

View in context

I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so." Those who nominated and elected me did so with full knowledge that I had made this and many similar declarations, and had never recanted them.

View in context

'It has also come to my attention that some of the accused-turned witnesses have recanted or are about to recant.

Slain Ako Bicol rep's family: 'We fear for our lives, safety of witnesses'

Right after the elections, Advincula, however, appeared at Camp Crame to recant his allegations and claimed the video had been produced with three opposition senators and the candidates of the Otso Diretso, except Mar Roxas, as the masterminds.

A 'jukebox' or a true witness? 'Bikoy' returns to police custody

'This is highly condemnable and we, therefore, advise the purveyors of such news to recant and desist henceforth,' the statement added.

I Didn't Condemn CJN Onnoghen's Suspension a Aisha Buhari

We hold prosecutors to a high standard of ethical conduct; however, prosecutors of domestic and dating violence more often than not find themselves in ethical dilemmas created by the very victims they are tasked with protecting from further harm--the victims who recant.

The Ethical Dilemmas and Professional Responsibilities of Prosecuting Domestic and Dating Violence

Luther was interrogated daily in the knowledge that a refusal to recant would place his life in danger.

Courage in 1517--an Example for 2017

He said the recant anti-polio campaign was much successful and the staff has achieved the target.

Healthcare facilities being improved in Astore: DHO

The Maryknoll letter gave him 15 days from its receipt to "publicly recant" his support of women's ordination.