abnegate

ab•ne•gate (AB-ni-geyt)  v

Definition:
1. to refuse or deny oneself (some rights, conveniences, etc.); reject; renounce
2. to relinquish; give up
abnegation, abnegator noun

Origin:
1623; from L. abnegatus, pp. of abnegare "to refuse, deny" from ab- "off, away from" + negare "to deny"

Related:
Synonyms: renounce, abstain, decline, forbear, forgo, refrain
Related Words: renege, negative, negation, deny

Sentence Examples:
• The fact of so little cultivation does not abnegate the existence of industry on the part of the villagers. Grazing is their occupation, not farming; only a little of the latter to give them maize for their tortillas, chile to season it with, and black beans to complete the repast. -The War Trail, Mayne Reid

• No government can, voluntarily, relinquish its powers, and abnegate its authority without thereby inviting disorder, disquietude, and, in the end, its destruction.- History and Ecclesiastical Relations of the Churches of the Presbyterial Order at Amoy, China J. V. N. Talmage

• In the vanity typical of the insecure, they abnegate all foreign knowledge. They rarely know a second language sufficiently to read it.  -After the Rain, Sam Vaknin

Sources: Dictionary.com, Online Etymology

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