abdication

noun

ab·​di·​ca·​tion ˌab-di-ˈkā-shən 

plural abdications

: an act of abdicating: such as

a

: an act of giving up sovereign power or high office

The desire of King Edward VIII to marry divorced U.S. socialite Wallis Simpson led to the king's abdication in 1936, an event that also brought Harry, his father Prince Charles and his brother, Prince William, into the line of succession.

—Martha Ross

From the advent of Alexander the Great, in 332 B.C., to the abdication of King Farouk, in 1952, the country was ruled without interruption by non-Egyptians.

—Milton Viorst

b

: an act of abandoning or discarding a right, responsibility, etc.

an abdication of authority

The militants took the liberties of Europe as a sign of moral and political abdication.

—Fouad Ajami

When the majority throws up its hands because the problems are too tough, that's simply an abdication of responsibility.

—Michael S. Serrill

Examples of abdication in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Critics of the bill saw the presidents' failure to speak out, while hundreds of students and faculty did, as an abdication of responsibility. —Dan Horn, The Enquirer, 3 July 2025

Given Congress’s abdication of its constitutional role, the courts remain the best immediate vehicle for combatting Trump’s excesses. —Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 27 June 2025

Pahlavi’s speech on Tuesday was perhaps his boldest assertion of authority since the abdication of his father. —Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 17 June 2025

The Queen cited her health during a New Year’s Eve 2023 speech announcing her abdication. —Jillian Frankel, People.com, 12 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1571, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for abdication

• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation
• adaptation