disown

verb

dis·​own (ˌ)dis-ˈōn How to pronounce disown (audio)
disowned; disowning; disowns

transitive verb

1
: to refuse to acknowledge as one's own
2
a
: to repudiate any connection or identification with
b
: to deny the validity or authority of
disownment noun

Examples of disown in a Sentence

Her parents threatened to disown her if she didn't go back to school. He was disowned for bringing shame to the family.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Despite his regular attempts to disown it, the Ukraine war has very much become Trump’s war on which US credibility now hangs by a thread. Matthew Chance, CNN Money, 2 June 2025 Other common refrains on their content include Dodger fans disowning them. Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2025 Related Stories Will Forte Is Willing to Climb Mount Everest to Promote ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ After Looney Tunes Film Was Saved Khan plays Rehan Roy, a notorious jewel thief working successfully abroad after his father (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) disowned him for his career choice. Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 25 Apr. 2025 Spider-Man 3 (2007) A botch job of oppositional motivations practically disowned by its own director, the messiest Spider-Man movie is a near-constant tonal misfire, simultaneously more serious than its predecessors and more willfully goofy. Darren Franich, EW.com, 7 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for disown

Word History

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of disown was in 1630

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Cite this Entry

“Disown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disown. Accessed 9 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

disown

verb
dis·​own (ˈ)dis-ˈōn How to pronounce disown (audio)
: to refuse to accept any longer as one's own : renounce, disclaim

More from Merriam-Webster on disown

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