Vocabulary Builder — Essay & Answer Writing
Abdicate
verb
/ AB-dih-kayt /
Medium
Meaning
To formally give up or renounce a responsibility, right, power, or office — especially a high office such as a throne or constitutional position
Origin / Etymology
Latin abdicare — ab (away) + dicare (to proclaim)
Synonyms
Relinquish
Renounce
Forsake
Abandon
Antonyms
Assume
Claim
Retain
Uphold
Example Sentence
"Critics argued that the government had abdicated its constitutional duty to provide quality public education by allowing private institutions to dominate without accountability."
🎯 UPSC Usage
Use in GS2 (governance, polity) when describing a government or institution that fails to fulfil its constitutional mandate. Also applies in discussions of judicial abdication, legislative abdication of oversight, or abdication of federal responsibility to states. Avoid using only in the narrow monarchical sense.
Relevant Subjects