abnegate

Definition

To deny (oneself something); to renounce or give up (a right, a power, a claim, a privilege, a convenience).

Etymology

First attested in 1657. * Perhaps from Latin abnegō (“to refuse, reject”) from ab (“away from”) + negō (“to deny”), * Alternatively, perhaps a back-formation from abnegation.

Example Sentences

• "To compel a state, upon theories of doubtful statutory interpretation, to appear as defendant suitor in its own courts, and to litigate with private parties as to whether it had abnegated its sovereignty of exemption, would be intolerable."
• "All ancient and modern histories of nations abnegate God."

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