recanting

verb

present participle of recant
as in retracting
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

Relevance

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 recanting Now with Jane Doe recanting her claims, Carter’s attorneys have filed a notice to the judge, dismissing all claims against her — though their case against her former attorney, Buzbee, still stands. — Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN Money, 25 Sep. 2026 Lawyers for the former Penn State assistant football coach told a court that one of his victims signed an affidavit recanting his testimony, court documents say. — Dan Snyder, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026 But in 1999, the four men were arrested, with Springsteen and Scott confessing and later recanting, according to the AP. — Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 19 Feb. 2026 Campbell also dismissed the third eyewitness recanting her testimony, saying there's no evidence of tampering during the trial. — Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 26 Jan. 2026 Lunsford ended up recanting his statement when questioned again, this time by a district attorney’s investigator. — Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 17 Sep. 2025 However, in a 2024 court filing known as a coram nobis petition, Zachary Adams revealed Autry was recanting his testimony and asked for a new trial. — Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for recanting
  1. retracting
  2. renouncing
  3. withdrawing
  4. denying
  5. contradicting
Verb
  • Vivo and Oppo phones have relied on various gimmicks, like smaller gimbals and pop-out lenses, to improve camera performance, though not to the extent of a physically retracting gimbal.
    — Florence Ion, PC Magazine, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The remote control has mixed reviews, with this seemingly retracting from its otherwise glowing reviews.
    — Tantse Walter, Space.com, 26 June 2026
Definition of retracting
Verb
  • Although economic espionage is not without risk, unilaterally renouncing the practice in the current global environment is far more dangerous.
    — DAVID S. COHEN, Foreign Affairs, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Eric Lai, a senior fellow with the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, said every actor in Hong Kong civil society who assumed that renouncing violence and working within the law would be fine has to revise that assumption.
    — Kanis Leung, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of renouncing
Verb
  • Bass pushed for a bill in the state Legislature that would have reduced taxes on apartment buildings but ended up withdrawing it.
    — Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • San Antonio police have advised bank customers to stay alert when withdrawing cash and watch for anyone who may be following them.
    — Jacob Beltran, San Antonio Express-News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of withdrawing
Verb
  • Attorneys for two of them have gotten back to us, denying the allegations.
    — Mahsa Saeidi, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • But there’s no denying the dynasty-chasing Dodgers are in trouble after the Brewers won games started by Los Angeles’ dynamic duo of Tarik Skubal and Yamamoto.
    — Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of denying
Verb
  • His argument would have been laughable, if not for the fact that Black Americans were barred from giving testimony against white people in California’s courts and therefore from contradicting Smith’s account.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Granted, this morning, Mercury in Scorpio will meet with Saturn retrograde in an awkward quincunx, which can be quite the contradicting aspect, as if the two planets in contact didn’t speak the same language.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of contradicting

Browse Nearby Words

recanted
recanting
recants
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Recanting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recanting. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of fervid

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All