How to Use disown in a Sentence

disown

verb
  • He was disowned for bringing shame to the family.
  • Her parents threatened to disown her if she didn't go back to school.
  • Rather than disown them, Trump counts these two among his closest aides.
    — Deroy Murdock, National Review, 15 Sep. 2017
  • Food and beverage stocks are even more disowned than the rest of staples.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 9 Dec. 2025
  • Bannon, for his part, often seems to want to disown his alma mater, too.
    — Vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, 19 Apr. 2017
  • No child should have to fear being disowned by their caretakers.
    — NBC News, 20 June 2019
  • By the time the movie came out that May, Fincher had all but disowned it.
    — Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2023
  • Their homes have been destroyed, or they have been disowned by family.
    — Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
  • Where our families, at one time, would disown us, most of us are welcomed and loved.
    — Robert Kesten, Sun Sentinel, 29 Aug. 2024
  • While some of my fellow Chicagoans might disown me for saying this, any white roll will do.
    — Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 25 June 2024
  • The older ones are now disowning us because of how far these pics are going.
    — Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 14 Aug. 2019
  • He was also forced to disown his family.
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 1 June 2026
  • That’s not to say the White House disowned the deal once it was finally reached.
    — W. James Antle Iii, Washington Examiner, 1 June 2023
  • The third -- who stuck by her story -- testified her parents had disowned her.
    — Aimee Green, OregonLive.com, 19 Feb. 2018
  • Some Sox fans claimed to disown the team back then, and now are jumping back on the bandwagon.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 6 June 2026
  • Glen Powell plays a charming guy disowned by his wealthy family when he was born.
    — Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2026
  • And if someone does decide to leave, they are disowned and their families are told never to speak to them.
    — Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 6 Jan. 2024
  • Such sharp practices have led his daughter to all but disown him, and that has spurred him to look elsewhere for family.
    — Sam Sacks, WSJ, 7 July 2017
  • This has led to mass pushback among progressive fans, some of which have disowned the series entirely.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2024
  • Because all the tweets are gone, which, in this modern age, is a dramatic—if subtle—act of disowning.
    — Richard Lawson, Vanities, 6 Feb. 2017
  • In the past few months alone, Army officials debated whether the study should be embraced or disowned.
    — Michael R. Gordon, WSJ, 22 Oct. 2018
  • My mom, a die-hard Spanish citizen and fan, has probably just disowned me.
    — Alex Ward, Vox, 12 June 2018
  • This came as a blow to his wife, and precipitated their divorce; and proved the last straw for his parents, who disowned him.
    — The Week Uk, theweek, 13 Oct. 2024
  • The film highlights the struggles of a dementia patient after his kids disown and abandon him in old age.
    — Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
  • This includes the prime minister, who initially disowned the pause.
    — Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 17 June 2024
  • My mother nobly bearing the loss of my brother, who disowned her, my father, the entire family.
    — Jamie Quatro, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023
  • Gareth Bale, a man who was seemingly disowned by his manager, was selected to start the game.
    — SI.com, 17 Aug. 2019
  • The plot is centered around the foul-mouthed Georgie, who has been disowned by her wealthy mother while her classy twin sister remains in her good graces.
    — Ale Russian, PEOPLE.com, 1 Nov. 2019
  • Pooro manages to escape and finds her way home to her parents, who disown her for having spent a fortnight with a Muslim.
    — JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2025
  • The concerted campaign by the media to discredit and disown one of their own colleagues is shocking.
    — USA TODAY, 19 Nov. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'disown.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: