recant
rih-KANT
/rɪˈkænt/
To formally withdraw or disavow a statement, opinion, or belief previously expressed.
Recant implies a public, official retracting of prior testimony or statements.
The story behind the word. From Latin 're-' (back/again) and 'cantare' (to sing). In ancient times, 'recantare' meant to sing an incantation backward to reverse a spell. Over time, it came to mean singing back or unsaying one's previous words.
Word relationships
- retract: Retract means drawing back a statement, whereas recant often carries religious or formal legal weight of disavowing a prior sworn position.
- disavow: Disavow means denying connection or responsibility, while recant specifically takes back a spoken or written declaration.
- reaffirm: Reaffirm means asserting or confirming a statement again with conviction.
- maintain: Maintain means sticking firmly to a previously stated position.
Commonly confused with
- impeach: Recant is taking back one's own prior statement, whereas impeach is challenging someone else's statement or credibility.
Word family
- recantation (noun): A statement that someone no longer holds a particular opinion or belief.
Collocations
- recant testimony
- recant a confession
- formally recant
- force to recant
Example sentences
- "Facing new evidence, the informant agreed to recant his previous testimony against the defendant." Witness retraction
Memory hook
RE-CANT: I CAN'T say this anymore, so I RE-CANT it! Sing back your previous words.
When not to use
Do not use 'recant' for casually changing your mind about lunch choices; it carries weight in formal, legal, or religious contexts.
Fun facts
- Galileo famously was forced by the Inquisition in 1633 to recant his astronomical theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun.
Related words
Also appears in
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