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

The last time around, the naive abdication of the requirements of national defense made reviving the arsenal of democracy on a short timeline unnecessarily difficult. —Mitch McConnell, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2024

Albert, Duke of York, took the throne as George VI upon his older brother’s abdication. —Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Dec. 2024

Queen Mary, 52, took the throne alongside her husband, King Frederik, following the surprise abdication of Frederik’s mother, Queen Margrethe, earlier this year. —Rachel Burchfield, People.com, 27 Nov. 2024

January 14 - Denmark’s King Frederik X takes the throne after the abdication of his mother Queen Margrethe II. —CNN, 21 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1571, in the meaning defined above