Skip to content
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

abdication

/ˌæb.dəˈkeɪ.ʃən/

Press play to hear how to pronounce abdication.

American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
Watch on YouTube ↗

What does abdication mean?

noun

  1. The act of abdicating; the renunciation of a high office, dignity, or trust, by its holder.
  2. The voluntary renunciation of sovereign power.
More meanings (3)

noun

  1. (obsolete) The act of disowning or disinheriting a child.
  2. (obsolete) The renunciation of interest in a property or a legal claim; abandonment.
  3. (obsolete) The action of being deposed from the seat of power.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˌæb.dəˈkeɪ.ʃən/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Marius was the master of the house, there was abdication in his joy, he was the grandson of his grandson.
Victor HugoLes MisérablesTranslated by Isabel Florence HapgoodProject Gutenberg ebook #135
The shutting up of the courts is an abdication, a total dissolution of government.
John Clark Ridpath; G. Mercer (Graeme Mercer) Adam; Charles K. (Charles Keyser) EdmundsJames Otis, the Pre-RevolutionistProject Gutenberg ebook #722
More book examples (3)
This pathetic abdication of all authority over her did not move her: she could feel only the outrage of his interference.
Edith WhartonSummerProject Gutenberg ebook #166
The abdication of Charles V. left Philip ruler over wider dominions than had ever before been brought together under the sway of one man.
John FiskeThe Unseen World, and Other EssaysProject Gutenberg ebook #1486
Here, she issued a proclamation declaring that the abdication she had signed in her prison was illegal, and requiring the Regent to yield to his lawful Queen.
Charles DickensA Child's History of EnglandProject Gutenberg ebook #699