Definition of: recant

(ri·kant′) v.t.
To withdraw formally one's belief in (something previously believed or maintained).
—v.i. To disavow an opinion or belief previously held. [<L recantare <re- again + cantare sing, freq. of canere sing]
—re·can·ta·tion (rē′kan·tā′shən) noun
—re·cant′er noun Synonyms: abandon, abjure, deny, disavow, discard, disclaim, disown, forswear, recall, renounce, repudiate, retract, revoke. To recant is to deny formally and publicly some opinion or statement, especially in religion, that one has held or advocated. Abjure is etymologically the exact equivalent of the Saxon forswear, signifying to put away formally and under oath, as an error, heresy, or evil practice, or a condemned and detested person. A man recants his belief, abjures or renounces his allegiance, repudiates another's claim, renounces his own, retracts a false statement. A person may deny, disavow, disclaim, disown what has been truly or falsely imputed to him or supposed to be his. He may deny his signature, disavow the act of his agent, disown his child; he may repudiate either a just claim or a base suggestion. Compare ABANDON, RENOUNCE.