English Meaning & Definitions
To formally and publicly withdraw or renounce a previously held statement, belief, or opinion.
- โThe witness was pressured to recant his testimony before the trial.โ
- โUnder intense scrutiny, the scientist was forced to recant her controversial hypothesis.โ
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for โrecantโ.
Derived from the Latin 'recantare', where 're-' (denoting back or reversal) is combined with 'cantare' (meaning to sing or charm). Originally literally meaning 'to sing back' or 'revoke a magical spell or song', it evolved in Middle English to mean formally withdrawing or retracting a public statement or belief.
Think of 're-' (again) + 'cant' (cannot) โ you are saying 'I cannot stand by what I said' and taking it back.
Frequently Asked Questions About โrecantโ
1. What is the meaning of โrecantโ in English?
In English, recant (verb) is defined as: โTo formally and publicly withdraw or renounce a previously held statement, belief, or opinion.โ.
2. How do you use โrecantโ in a sentence?
โThe witness was pressured to recant his testimony before the trial.โ
3. What are English synonyms of โrecantโ?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of โrecantโ?
Derived from the Latin 'recantare', where 're-' (denoting back or reversal) is combined with 'cantare' (meaning to sing or charm). Originally literally meaning 'to sing back' or 'revoke a magical spell or song', it evolved in Middle English to mean formally withdrawing or retracting a public statement or belief.
๐ฌ๐งMore English Words to English
View all English words โA measurement of time indicating an instantaneous occurrence or a state where no time has elapsed.
The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.