MEANING
1. To formally give up a throne or comparable position of sovereign authority.
2. To give up or fail to carry out a responsibility or duty.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- abdicate the throne
- a ruler abdicates
On the page
The ruler abdicated before the delegation could deliver its demand.
She asked whether he had abdicated the throne or merely abandoned the palace.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- abdicate
- Past tense
- abdicated
- Past participle
- abdicated
- Present participle
- abdicating
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- abdicate
- Present continuous
- am/is/are abdicating
- Present perfect
- have/has abdicated
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been abdicating
- Past
- abdicated
- Past continuous
- was/were abdicating
- Past perfect
- had abdicated
- Past perfect continuous
- had been abdicating
- Future
- will abdicate
- Future continuous
- will be abdicating
- Future perfect
- will have abdicated
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been abdicating
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary. Forms: abdicate; abdicates; abdicated; abdicated; abdicating Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: abdicates.
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