to resile
- verb
- /rɪˈzaɪl/
- Formal
- After much debate, the politician chose to resile from her earlier statements about reforming the healthcare system.
Examples
-
Under pressure from the board, the CEO decided to resile from the company's initial commitment to expand.
-
However, India has not only resiled from its UN obligations but continues to obfuscate on a dialogue under Simla.
Academic text (1995) -
Faced with mounting evidence, the organization had no choice but to resile from its previous position on climate change.
Synonyms
To stop doing a job, duty or action after someone tells you to
To stop insisting because others oppose you
To take back something you said before, especially in public
Officially stop something from being valid, for example a license
To give up a right, belief, job, or position officially
To give up control, a right, or something you own
Stop supporting or taking part in a plan because you feel unsure
Officially cancel a law, order, or agreement
Say publicly that you no longer believe something you said before
To take back a statement or opinion in public
To break a promise or agreement and not do what you said you would do
Give up a right or title to something
Fail to do something you promised or agreed to
To give up a belief or support publicly under pressure
To promise to give up a belief, habit, or practice
To stop taking part in an agreement you already agreed to
To officially take back a promise or plan
To officially give up power, rights, or a position
Take back a promise or support you gave
To try to avoid doing something you promised or agreed to do
Antonyms
How Complete
Surface Forms
Morphology
resile = sile (opaque) = re + sile
The sense 'withdraw from a promise' is a metaphorical extension of 'spring back' and cannot be reliably derived by an average learner from the components, especially since 'sile' is not a standalone English word.
Etymology
Resile comes from the Latin parts re- 'back' and salire 'to jump', creating the image of someone 'jumping back' from a position. So, to resile from a promise or agreement is to move 'back' from it, to withdraw or abandon what you once agreed.