Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To acknowledge or declare openly and unashamedly.
  • transitive verb To state positively; declare.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An avowal; a bold declaration.
  • To bind with a vow.
  • 2. To devote or dedicate by a vow; vow.
  • To vow to do or keep; promise; undertake.
  • To bind one's self by a vow; make a vow; vow.
  • To own or acknowledge obligation or relation to, as a person: as, he avowed him for his son.
  • To sanction; approve.
  • To declare openly, often with a view to justify, maintain, or defend: as, to avow one's principles.
  • Specifically, in law, to acknowledge and justify, as when the distrainer of goods defends in an action of replevin, and avows the taking, but insists that such taking was legal. See avowry, 1.
  • 5. To admit or confess openly or frankly; acknowledge; own: as, to avow one's self a convert.
  • Synonyms To affirm, assert, profess. Admit, Confess, etc. See acknowledge.
  • In law, to justify or maintain an act done, specifically a distress for rent taken in one's own right.
  • noun A vow; a promise.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete Avowal.
  • verb obsolete To bind, or to devote, by a vow.
  • noun Archaic A vow or determination.
  • transitive verb To declare openly, as something believed to be right; to own or acknowledge frankly.
  • transitive verb (Law) To acknowledge and justify, as an act done. See Avowry.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To declare openly and boldly, as something believed to be right; to own, acknowledge or confess frankly.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
  • verb admit openly and bluntly; make no bones about

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English avowen, from Old French avouer, from Latin advocāre, to call upon; see advocate.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French avouer, from Latin advocare ("to call to, call upon, hence to call as a witness, defender, patron, or advocate"), from ad ("to") + vocare ("to call").

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Examples

  • To punish men for beliefs they dare to avow is to risk punishing the sincere and to allow hypocrites to go unpunished.

    LIBERALISM JOHN PLAMENATZ 1968

  • Ennahda party leaders have said that the Assembly will focus on democracy, human rights and a free-market economy -- and will not introduce Sharia law or other Islamic concepts to alter what they avow to be a secular constitutional text.

    Daniel Wagner: Tunisia's Constitutional Challenge Daniel Wagner 2012

  • Federation, speaking of the National Civic Federation soon after its inception, said: To fall into one another's arms, to avow friendship, to express regret at the injury which has been done, would not alter the facts of the situation.

    THE CLASS STRUGGLE 2010

  • In order to achieve full civil rights now, we avow:

    The Dallas Principles 2009

  • For many Christians, America has become a fierce goddess, who claims more of their loyalty than the God in whose name they have been baptized and whose absolute Lordship they solemnly avow.

    Miroslav Volf: Did 9/11 Make Us Morally 'Better'? Miroslav Volf 2011

  • In order to achieve full civil rights now, we avow:

    Archive 2009-05-01 2009

  • Yet she could not bring herself to avow it openly, either at or after the luncheon.

    Latin America 2010

  • They openly avow their objective is to institute Sharia law wherever they rule.

    Ken Blackwell: Arab Spring/Islamist Fall Ken Blackwell 2011

  • In order to achieve full civil rights now, we avow:

    The Dallas Principles 2009

  • For many Christians, America has become a fierce goddess, who claims more of their loyalty than the God in whose name they have been baptized and whose absolute Lordship they solemnly avow.

    Miroslav Volf: Did 9/11 Make Us Morally 'Better'? Miroslav Volf 2011

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