Forswear (Verb)
Meaning
Formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure; "He retracted his earlier statements about his religion"; "She abjured her beliefs".
Classification
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing.
Examples
- Under intense scrutiny, the former politician had to forswear his previous stance on tax reform in order to salvage his reputation.
- The dictator demanded that the rebels forswear their allegiance to the monarchy if they wanted amnesty.
- She was forced to forswear her lifelong commitment to pacifism when conscripted into the army during wartime.
- The young actress was compelled to forswear her previous criticism of the film industry to secure a role in a major production.
- After years of promoting the ideology, he began to forswear his devotion to the cause as he discovered its dark underbelly.