renege

verb

re·​nege ri-ˈneg 

 also  -ˈnāg,

-ˈnig;

rē- 

reneged; reneging

intransitive verb

1

: to go back on a promise or commitment

2

: revoke

3

obsolete : to make a denial

transitive verb

: deny, renounce

reneger noun

Synonyms

• back down
• back off
• back out
• cop out
• fink out

Examples of renege in a Sentence

They had promised to pay her tuition but later reneged.

my so-called best friend promised to help me move, only to renege come Saturday morning

Recent Examples on the Web

Many agencies exempted large groups of people, angering those who felt the government had reneged on a promise. —Andrea Hsu, NPR, 8 Apr. 2025

Hamas – which wants to see the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza - rejected the plan, accusing Israel of reneging over commitments made during initial talks over the truce. —Lauren Izso, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2025

Lawyers for the global healthcare alliance said the administration should not be permitted to renege on the government’s promises. —David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2025

The move comes after the Cantrell administration reneged on a deal to help fill some of that gap. —Axios, 18 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin renegare

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for renege

• big
• brig
• brigg
• dig
• fig
• gig
• jig
• mig
• pig
• prig
• rig
• sprig

Kids Definition

renege

verb

re·​nege ri-ˈnig  -ˈneg 

-ˈnēg,

-ˈnāg

reneged; reneging

1

: deny

2

: to go back on a promise or agreement

reneged on paying the debt

reneger noun