unsay

Meaning

1. To withdraw, retract (something said).
2. To cause something not to have been said; to make it so that one never said something (since this is physically impossible, usually in the subjunctive).

Synonyms

withdraw

swallow

take back

recant

negative

quash

refute

repeal

rescind

reverse

revoke

cancel

unspeak

confute

countermand

negate

Translations

αναιρώ

ξελέγω

widerrufen

desdir-se

ritrattare

hirondelle

annuler

ανακαλώ

ξελέω

παίρνω πίσω

anuŀ lar

aronde

cantar la palinòdia

retirer

revocar

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: unseyen

Inherited from Old English: onseċġan

Cognate with Dutch: ontzeggen

Cognate with German: entsagen

In summary

From Middle English unseyen, unseien, from Old English onseċġan (“to deny, renounce”), from Proto-West Germanic *andasaggjan (“to unsay, renounce, deny”), equivalent to un- + say. Cognate with Dutch ontzeggen (“to deny”), German entsagen (“to renounce, abjure”).