to recant
44
8.6
- verb
- /rɪˈkænt/
- Formal
:
retractarse de
- Under pressure from the court, she chose to recant her confession.
- forced to recant
- to recant earlier statements
- to recant a confession
You know, Louis Pasteur in his deathbed recanted and said, yes, Beauchamp was right.
- You know, Louis Pasteur in his deathbed recanted and said, yes, Beauchamp was right.
- So I said all you have to do is recant what you said and repent.
- When it came down to it, so many people made the poll tax unworkable that she had to recant and, and abandon it.
- So David, David Buss comes up with this theory, then he kind of reassesses the data, recants his original theory.
- And he's being told to recant what he knows to be fundamentally true about the physical world.
- He later recanted that the dog told him to do it in prison, which of course means the dog got to him.
- So assuming that we do not get the media what recanting on their abysmal position.
Examples
-
Look, Barry's tied up right now, but he wanted me to let you know that Brenda Marsh, your key witness in the Kenneth Waters case, has just recanted her original testimony.
-
The community petitioned against the surrender, and two of the seven signatories recanted their support.
Academic text (2009) -
All you have to do is call the reporter and recant.
-
So I said all you have to do is recant what you said and repent.
-
We give you a chance to recant your treason and go free.
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We demand that the Tribune issue an apology and recant this story immediately!
-
On one occasion, they even forced a student to publicly recant her allegation.
Academic text (1993) -
My client is recanting his confession and changing his plea to not guilty.
-
He was told he could not return to class unless he recanted that position.
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His work was soon deemed flawed and inaccurate, and Time recanted in public.
Academic text (1997)
Synonyms
107
3.7
To stop insisting because others oppose you
103
3.7
To take back something you said before, especially in public
69
6.3
To give up a right, belief, job, or position officially
61
3.5
Say that what you said before was wrong and you no longer believe it
59
3.9
Stop supporting or taking part in a plan because you feel unsure
41
6.0
To take back a statement or opinion in public
33
8.2
To refuse to accept or be linked to something
33
7.7
To say you are not responsible for or connected to something
10
6.5
To try to change a previous statement or position to avoid criticism
3
6.2
Take back a public statement or position after pressure
3
9.9
To give up a belief or support publicly under pressure
1
9.3
To take back words you used earlier
1
9.9
To publicly promise to give up a belief, habit, or claim
1
7.9
To change an earlier decision or statement because of pressure
To withdraw from a promise or agreement, often officially under pressure
Take back a promise or support you gave
To admit you were wrong and take back what you said
Antonyms
How Withdrawn
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word recant comes from Latin parts re- ('again') and cantare ('to sing'), and is like the English word chant. Think of someone who 'changes their song' and says the opposite of what they said before. That's why to recant is to formally take back a statement or belief.