Words / C2

ri-KANT/rɪˈkænt/

To recant is to say publicly that you no longer hold a former claim or belief (formal): recant a statement, recant under pressure. Take back is everyday; retract is the close twin for a published line. Refute (already in the dictionary) is to prove a claim wrong, not to withdraw your own. Renege (this batch) is to break a promise, not to unsay a doctrine. Do not keep calling a bin a backup.

Meaning

To say publicly that you no longer hold a former belief or claim (formal).

Examples

• “Recant the claim that one CSV in a bin is a backup.”
• “Take back is everyday. Retract is of a published sentence. Refute is prove wrong (already in C1) — the mix-up. A dated correction in the minutes is the recantation that counts. Doubling down on the bin is theatre. Restore the file; then speak.”

Good to know

Withdraw a stated belief (formal). Everyday: take back. Close: retract. Mix-up: refute (prove wrong — already in C1). Contrast: renege (break a promise — this batch). A bin is not a backup.

New