recant

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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:

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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 ?

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'

Justin said they might also file perjury charges against Baldo's security aide Christopher Naval and his co-accused who recanted their testimonies.

Rodel Batocabe kin to appeal ruling on ex-Daraga mayor's release

A British woman, 19, who claimed she had been raped by a group of Israeli men and later recanted is now alleging she had been pressured by police to withdraw her complaint and was denied a lawyer during questioning, according to The Sun.

Woman in Napa rape case says she recanted under duress

Peter Joemel Advincula, the government's star witness against Vice President Leni Robredo and some Catholic bishops using his recanted statement on controversial 'Ang Totoong Narcolist' video series, surrendered to the police anew.

Bikoy surrenders anew for cyber libel case filed by Misibis Resort owner

Last week, Advincula surfaced, with the help of relatives connected with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the National Police, and recanted his statements against the Duterte family.

The Rody-Leni Show / Days after she's tagged in alleged oust-Duterte plot, commander in chief ribs VP at PMA for 'not smiling' at him

Prosecutors in Kankakee County say they are reconsidering whether to retry a man convicted of a 1999 murder after a child witness recanted his testimony.

Prosecutors reviewing whether to retry man after witness recants -BYLN- Associated Press

RECANTED STATEMENTSState prosecutors told the court several times that the witnesses, who were relatives of the suspect, and would not testify as they had recanted their statements.The court also heard that the witnesses refused to receive summons.

Murder suspect freed as witnesses refuse to testify

The ICC dropped the cases after a number of key suspects recanted their statements.

ICC faults state for failing to turn in trio over witness interference

Perjury only becomes an issue when the original statement or recanted statement was sworn.

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

This reminds me of retired Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema's announcement the very next day that Mehsood had killed Benazir (later in the court he recanted).

Zia's death

(1) In 1520, the Pope warned Luther in a papal bull (edict) that he risked excommunication unless he recanted within 60 days.