disavow
/dɪsəˈvaʊ/verb
disavow is spelled D-I-S-A-V-O-W: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,073rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, disavow means “To strongly and solemnly refuse to own or acknowledge; to deny responsibility for, approbation of, and the like” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in disavow?
| Letters | 7: D-I-S-A-V-O-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 47,073rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is disavow?
Disavow appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,073rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce disavow?
- /dɪsəˈvaʊ/
Disavow has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-disavow.ogg, En-au-disavow.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of disavow
- disavows present, singular, he/she/it
- disavowing participle, present
- disavowed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does disavow mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To strongly and solemnly refuse to own or acknowledge; to deny responsibility for, approbation of, and the like.
He was charged with embezzlement, but he disavows the crime.
- 2
To deny; to show the contrary of; to deny legitimacy or achievement of any kind.
Because of her dissatisfaction, she now disavows the merits of socialism.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Disavow in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | désavouer , désapprouver |
| German | abstreiten, leugnen, von sich weisen, verleugnen, sich distanzieren von, desavouieren |
| Spanish | repudiar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does disavow come from?
From dis- + avow, or from Old French desavouer.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).