recanted 1 of 2

adjective

as in retracted

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recanted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of recant
as in renounced
to solemnly or formally reject or go back on (as something formerly adhered to) the Inquisition forced Galileo to recant his support of the Copernican observation that the earth revolves around the sun

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of recanted
Adjective
The two who confessed – and later recanted – were convicted of capital murder and remained in prison until DNA evidence proving their innocence led to their release in 2009, prosecutors said. — Jean Casarez, CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025
Verb
This included expert witnesses who said the child’s death was an accidental drowning brought on by a seizure and a jailhouse informant who recanted his trial testimony that Duncan had confessed to the crime. — Richard A. Webster, ProPublica, 31 Aug. 2026 His conviction rested on circumstantial evidence and testimony from witnesses Myers’ lawyers said were unreliable, including one witness who later recanted his testimony. — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026 Over the years, questions about the evidence against Smith emerged as a witness recanted, Lowden repudiated his earlier statement implicating Smith, and another man claimed responsibility for Hart's killing. — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2026 In lieu of physical evidence, some witnesses gave statements against Noling during his trial, but later recanted their statements and said they were initially pressured by the prosecutor to give them, the Death Penalty Information Center says. — CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026 At least three people were arrested and police said at least four others have recanted. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 17 June 2026 Others have recanted and said police coerced them into implicating Washington and Simms. — John Annese, New York Daily News, 22 May 2026 However, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office ultimately dropped charges against Santana after the 17-year-old accuser recanted his statements to prosecutors, television interviewers and on social media, according to court records. — Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 14 May 2026 The conviction turned largely on eyewitness testimony that has since been recanted and scientific evidence that has since been debunked. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 8 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for recanted
  1. retracted
  2. renounced
  3. withheld
  4. withdrew
  5. suppressed
  6. denied
  7. repressed
  8. contradicted
Adjective
  • Notably, 90% of 190 sick individuals in the current case reported eating iceberg lettuce, a robust epidemiological link independent of the retracted test.
    — Lisa Fitzpatrick, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
  • On April 22, 2026, Springer Nature posted a retracted article notice almost a year after initial publication.
    — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 4 May 2026
Definition of retracted
Verb
  • Yermolaiev has lived in the glitzy city state on the Mediterranean coast for several years, having left Ukraine and renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019 to become a citizen of Cyprus.
    — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Their virality comes at a time when the very generation that inspired them has largely renounced the label.
    — Margaux MacColl, Vanity Fair, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of renounced
Adjective
  • The withheld funding supports election monitoring, independent media and other pro-democracy programs abroad.
    — Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025
Definition of withheld
Verb
  • The airline withdrew an application for a third flyover planned for this coming weekend, the aviation authority said.
    — Pete Muntean, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The union later withdrew that measure, but only after the council struck a deal to require new hotel projects to go through a more extensive approval process at City Hall.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of withdrew
Adjective
  • General Manager Ken Holland hinted at potentially being done after trading center Phillip Danault for a draft pick in December and acquiring Panarin at a suppressed price in February, though he has been known to under-promise often and, sometimes, over-deliver.
    — Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 3 Mar. 2026
  • Supervising sound editor Alastair Sirkett told IndieWire that Peter Claffey’s big, former-rugby-player frame really helps that moment sing with suppressed panic.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 18 Feb. 2026
Definition of suppressed
Verb
  • The Attorney General’s Office could not be reached for comment on why the grant was denied.
    — Jake Ramsey, Oklahoma Watch, 30 Aug. 2026
  • If that application is denied, deportation could be a death sentence.
    — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of denied
Adjective
  • The 1996 drama saw Watson play Bess McNeill, a young woman living in a repressed, deeply religious community in the north of Scotland.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Sigmund Freud wrote that dreams were a kind of acting-out of repressed impulses.
    — Veronique Greenwood, Time, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of repressed
Verb
  • But court filings, video evidence and investigators later contradicted key parts of that account, according to CBS News.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Castro initially claimed under oath that Sosa-Celis attacked him, but surveillance footage contradicted his claim.
    — Ryan Lucas, NPR, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of contradicted

Browse Nearby Words

recantations
recanted
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Cite this Entry

“Recanted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recanted. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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