renege

English

WOTD – 21 October 2006

Alternative forms

• reneague, reneg, re-nig, renegue

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin renegō, from negō (“I deny”). Possibly influenced by renegotiate. Doublet of renay. See also renegade.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈnɛɡ/, /ɹɪˈnɪɡ/, /ɹɪˈneɪɡ/, /ɹiː-/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈneɪɡ/, /ɹɪˈniːɡ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

  ,

  Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: (US) -ɛɡ, (US) -ɪɡ, -eɪɡ, (Received Pronunciation) -iːɡ

Verb

renege (third-person singular simple present reneges, present participle reneging, simple past and past participle reneged)

1. (intransitive) To break a promise or commitment; to go back on one's word.
   • 2010, Dolly Freed, Possum Living, page 149:

     Previously I promised not to proselytize miserism, but now I want to renege a little on that promise. If your family income is anywhere near average, you can scrimp and save and cut back for maybe two to four years […]

   • 2011 February 5, Michael Kevin Darling, “Tottenham 2 - 1 Bolton”, in BBC‎^[1]:

     Clattenburg awarded Spurs a penalty for the third time after a handball in the area but he reneged after realising that the linesman had flagged Crouch offside in the build-up.

2. (intransitive) In a card game, to break one's commitment to follow suit when capable.
3. (transitive, archaic) To deny; to renounce
   • c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

     His captaines heart, / Which in the ſcuffles of great fights hath burſt / The Buckles on his breaſt, reneages all temper, / And is become the bellowes and the Fan / To coole a Gypſies Luſt.

   • 1608, Josuah Sylvester, The Sepmaines of Du Bartas:

     All Europe high (all sorts of rights reneged) / Against the truth and thee unholy leagued.

Related terms

• abnegate
• negate (and its related terms)
• negative
• neglect
• négligée
• negotiate
• renegade
• renegation

 

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁eǵ- (0 c, 9 e)

Translations

break a promise or commitment

• Bulgarian: не изпълнявам обещание (ne izpǎlnjavam obeštanie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 食言 (zh) (shíyán)

• Dutch: belofte breken
• Finnish: rikkoa lupaus, syödä sanansa (fi); pettää (fi)
• French: manquer à la parole
• Galician: botarse atrás, volverse atrás (gl)
• German: (sein) Wort brechen, nicht Wort halten
• Greek: αθετώ (el) (athetó)

  Ancient Greek: ἀθετέω (athetéō)

• Korean: 어기다 (ko) (eogida), 파기하다 (pagihada)
• Persian: جا زدن (jâ zadan)
• Polish: złamać słowo pf, łamać słowo sg or impf, łamać słowa pl or impf
• Portuguese: faltar com a palavra, voltar atrás
• Russian: изменя́ть своему́ сло́ву (izmenjátʹ svojemú slóvu)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: прекр́шити рије̑ч

  Roman: prekŕšiti rijȇč

• Spanish: faltar a la palabra, faltar a su palabra
• Welsh: torri gair, torri addewid

card games: fail to follow suit when capable

• Bulgarian: правя ривок (pravja rivok)
• Dutch: verzaken (nl)
• Galician: renunciar (gl)
• Russian: де́лать рено́нс (délatʹ renóns)

deny, renounce

• Dutch: verloochenen (nl), afzweren (nl)
• Finnish: kieltää (fi)
• German: verleugnen (de)
• Portuguese: renegar (pt), rejeitar (pt), renunciar (pt)
• Russian: отка́зываться (ru) (otkázyvatʹsja)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: отка́зати

  Roman: otkázati (sh)

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “renege”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• Greene, greene