renege
renege Lexical Profile
renege Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To go back on a promise, undertaking, or contract (usually followed by 'on').
"The contractor threatened to sue if the developer decided to renege on the signed payment schedule."
To fail to follow suit in a card game when able and required by the rules to do so.
"If you renege during a game of spades, your team loses points for the round."
• noun
An instance of breaking a rule in a card game by failing to follow suit when holding a card of the required suit.
"The tournament director penalized the pair two tricks after discovering an accidental renege during the final hand."
Word Nuance & Usage
When specifying the promise or agreement being broken, 'renege' is almost always used intransitively with the preposition 'on' (e.g., 'renege on a deal').
• Rhymes for renege
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in the mid-16th century, 'renege' comes from Medieval Latin 'renegare', meaning 'to deny again' or 'to renounce', formed from the intensive prefix 're-' and 'negare' ('to deny'), the same root that gave English 'renegade'.