disavowal

Noun

disavowal (countable and uncountable, plural disavowals)

1. A denial of knowledge, relationship, or responsibility towards something or someone.
   • Whatever pleas may be urged for a disavowal of engagements formed by diplomatic functionaries in cases where by the terms of the engagements a mutual ratification is reserved, or where notice at the time may have been given of a departure from instructions, or in extraordinary cases essentially...1809, James Madison, First State of the Union address
   • Last week, when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected as “condescending” President Trump’s proposal for a more merit-based immigration policy, she provided a metaphor not just for the shattered condition of Washington’s governance of immigration, but also for the Democratic Party’s ideologically...2019 May 20, Jerry Kammer, “Pelosi's Anti-Merit Metaphor for Governance”, in Center for Immigration Studies