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abdication

US //ˌæbdɪˈkeɪʃən// UK //ˌæbdɪkˈeɪʃən// ab·di·ca·tion
  1. 1 giving up a throne (n.)
    C1 Advanced Formal Law

    when a king or queen officially gives up their power and position.

    the formal renunciation of sovereign power or high office by a monarch or leader.

    Example

    The king's abdication shocked the country and changed the royal family forever.

    Example

    The sudden abdication of the emperor created a constitutional crisis that the interim government struggled to resolve within the legal framework.

    Usage

    Often used with the preposition 'of' followed by the title or power being surrendered.
  2. 2 failure of duty (n.)
    C1 Advanced Formal

    the failure to do what you are responsible for doing.

    the failure to fulfil a duty or responsibility; a metaphorical extension of the political sense.

    Example

    Leaving the children home alone was a complete abdication of his responsibility as a parent.

    Example

    Critics argued that the board's refusal to address the scandal was a total abdication of their ethical obligations to the shareholders.

    Usage

    Commonly appears in the phrase 'abdication of responsibility'.
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  1. 3 disowning a child (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Archaic Formal Law

    the act of legally refusing to recognize a child as your own.

    the act of disowning or disinheriting a child; a historical legal application of the term.

    Example

    In the old story, the father's abdication of his son left the boy with nothing.

    Example

    The legal records from the seventeenth century detail the father's formal abdication of his eldest son following a public dispute over the family estate.

    Teacher's tip

    This sense is archaic; modern speakers prefer 'disown' or 'disinherit' for this specific family context.
Origin

First attested in 1552. From Latin abdicātiō (“renunciation”), from abdicō. By surface analysis, abdicate + -ion.

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