abdicate
UK/ˈæb.dɪˌkeɪt/
abdicate verb: to disclaim and expel from the family, as a father his child; to disown; to disinherit.
Verb
abdicate (third-person singular simple present abdicates, present participle abdicating, simple past and past participle abdicated)
- To disclaim and expel from the family, as a father his child; to disown; to disinherit.
- To formally separate oneself from or to divest oneself of.
- To depose.
- To reject; to cast off; to discard.
- [W]e were legally call'd by his Majeſties writ to give our Attendance in Parliament, […] if we did not, we ſhould betray the Truſt committed to us by his Majeſtie, and ſhamefully betray and abdicate the due right both of our ſelves and Succeſſours.1647 June 8 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Hall, “Bishop Hall’s Hard Measure”, in The Shaking of the Olive-Tree. The Remaining Works of that Incomparable Prelate Joseph Hall, D.D. […], London: […] J....
- Synonyms:
- abandon, abjure, cast aside, cast off, cede, desert, disinherit, disown, forego, forsake
- To surrender, renounce or relinquish, as sovereign power; to withdraw definitely from filling or exercising, as a high office, station, dignity; to fail to fulfill responsibility for.
- to abdicate the throne, the crown, the papacy
- Note: The word abdicate was held to mean, in the case of James II, to abandon without a formal surrender.
- To relinquish or renounce a throne, or other high office or dignity; to renounce sovereignty.
- Though a king may abdicate for his own person, he cannot abdicate for the monarchy.1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC
abdicate meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Malayalam
abdicate in Hindi
- गद्दी छोड़ देना, तजना, त्याग करना, पद त्याग करना, स्वेच्छा से छोड़ना, छोड़ देना
abdicate in Tamil
- to disclaim and expel from family — see also disinherit
- வெளியேற்று veḷiyēṟṟu
- to reject, cast off, discard
- துற tuṟa
abdicate in Urdu
- چھوڑ دینا, چھوڑنا, ترک کرنا, تیاگ دینا
abdicate in Malayalam
- പദവി ഉപേക്ഷിക്കുക, സ്ഥാനത്യാഗം ചെയ്യുക, രാജിവയ്ക്കുക
More languagesFewer languages
- abdicate in Kannada
- ತೊರೆ, ಹಕ್ಕನ್ನು ತ್ಯಜಿಸು, ಅಧಿಕಾರವನ್ನು ಬಿಡು, ಪರಿತ್ಯಜಿಸು
- abdicate in Tagalog
- magbitiw, magdimiti
- abdicate in Vietnamese
- từ bỏ, bỏ, thoái vị, từ ngôi
Examples of abdicate in a sentence
- The cross-bearers abdicated their service.1776–1788, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: […]...
- He abdicates all right to be his own governor.1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to...
- The understanding abdicates its functions.1856, James Anthony Froude, History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth:
- Although the 1970s ushered in a culture of relative moral freedom, the courts refused to abdicate their role of custodians of public morality.2022, Janet Loveless, Mischa Allen, Caroline Derry, chapter 12, in Complete Criminal Law, 8th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press...
Synonyms of abdicate
15 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of abdicate
| third-person singular present | abdicates |
|---|---|
| present participle | abdicating |
| past participle | abdicated |
| past | abdicated |
Origin of abdicate
First attested in 1532; borrowed from Latin abdicātus (“renounced”), perfect passive participle of abdicō (“to renounce, reject, disclaim”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), formed from ab (“away”) + dicō (“proclaim, dedicate, declare”), akin to dīcō (“to say”). Compare Middle English abdicat (“forsaken, renounced”). Compare typologically abandon, Russian отказа́ться (otkazátʹsja), отре́чься (otréčʹsja).
Words formed from abdicate
Questions about abdicate
- What does abdicate mean?
- Abdicate means to disclaim and expel from the family, as a father his child; to disown; to disinherit.
- What is abdicate in Hindi?
- Abdicate in Hindi is गद्दी छोड़ देना, तजना, त्याग करना. See Abdicate meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use abdicate in a sentence?
- The cross-bearers abdicated their service.
- What part of speech is abdicate?
- Abdicate is a verb.
- How do you pronounce abdicate?
- Abdicate is pronounced /ˈæb.dɪˌkeɪt/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of abdicate?
- The past tense of abdicate is abdicated.
Words near abdicate in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: abdicate (page history and authors); abdicate (Hindi Wiktionary) (page history and authors); abdicate (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); abdicate (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); abdicate (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-ca-abdicate.ogg.
Cite this entry: “abdicate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/abdicate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.