Legal Definitions - repudiate

Definition: To reject or renounce a duty or obligation, especially indicating an intention not to perform a contract. It can also mean to divorce or disown one's wife (historical usage).

Examples:

• After signing the contract, the company decided to repudiate their agreement and not deliver the goods.
• He repudiated his wife after discovering her infidelity.

The first example illustrates how repudiate can be used to indicate a refusal to fulfill a contractual obligation. The second example shows how it can be used to mean disowning someone, in this case, a spouse.