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DictionarydisownReject a connection
verb

disown

dis-OHN/dɪsˈoʊn/

To refuse to acknowledge a connection with or responsibility for someone or something.

The parent disowns the adult child, turning away from an outstretched hand.

A parent turns away from an adult child reaching out, refusing an embrace while other relatives stand between them to show the denied connection.
Etymology
disEnglishnot; opposite of
+ownEnglishacknowledge; be responsible for

Own could mean accepting responsibility or acknowledging something, not just possessing it. Disown reverses that acceptance: people refuse to recognize a person or thing as connected with them.

In context

Vsauce presenter4:08
and you can disown your children but you can claim to have created your own paintings,
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Library of Congress presenter44:48
his entire church and community are going to disown him.
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More examples

  • Her family threatens to disown her over the marriage.
  • The author later disowned his earliest book.
  • She refuses to disown responsibility for the failed project.

Forms

disown · disowns · disowned · disowning

Similar words

repudiate
Emphasizes rejecting a claim or connection as unacceptable.
renounce
Renounce gives up a claim or allegiance; disown denies a connection or responsibility.