abdication
nounUK /ˌæb.dəˈkeɪ.ʃən/ · US /ˌæb.dəˈkeɪ.ʃən/
Etymology First attested in 1552. From Latin abdicātiō (“renunciation”), from abdicō. By surface analysis, abdicate + -ion.
1
Obsolete The act of disowning or disinheriting a child.
2
The act of abdicating; the renunciation of a high office, dignity, or trust, by its holder.
3
The voluntary renunciation of sovereign power.
- abdication of the throne, government, power, authority
- the king’s abdication
1 more example
- So yes: the abdication was when the Windsors opened the gate. After that it was – and will be – whack-a-mole. Every crisis will draw significant numbers of people out who would ask why you couldn’t cut off whoever was displeasing them in that moment.2025 October 31, Marina Hyde, “Now Andrew has been fired from the Firm, a nation wonders: who’ll be next?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
5
Obsolete The action of being deposed from the seat of power.
- Derived terms
- abdicational, nonabdication