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Definition of "renege" [re•nege]

  • To fail to carry out a promise or commitment: reneged on the contract at the last minute. (verb-intransitive)
  • Games To fail to follow suit in cards when able and required by the rules to do so. (verb-intransitive)
  • To renounce; disown. (verb-transitive)
  • The act of reneging. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "renege" in a sentence
  • "The headline on the Republican Jewish Coalition's press release today [April 14, 2009] calls on President Obama to stop the "equivocating and flip-flopping" on the Durban II conference, and the release expresses concern that the president might "renege" on his promised boycott of the conference."
  • "After N-Data tried to "renege" on the original agreement, and tried to increase the royalty payment, the FTC decided to take action."
  • "Mr. Cuomo said the New Orleans-based company agreed not to "renege" on its contract to pay $432 million to the New York Power Authority over the length of the revenue-sharing agreement, which runs through 2014."