What Does “Renege” Mean?

“Renege” Definition

“Renege” means to back out of an agreement or break a promise. If someone reneges, it basically means they’ve failed to do something they previously agreed to do. The verb can be used in a business context (“Right when it was about to go through, they reneged on the deal") or in an informal context (“She reneged on her offer to drive me to the airport when she found out my flight leaves at 5 a.m.”). Less commonly, “renege” can mean breaking the rules in a card game.

How to Use “Renege” & Examples

Use “renege” when someone goes back on a promise or deal. Here are some examples: “The university reneged his admission offer when they found out he lied on his application.” “He had to renege on the deal because he realized the contract was poorly written.” “The company promised to reimburse people who bought the faulty product, but they later reneged because they didn’t have enough funds.” “When he got into office, voters got upset because he reneged on promises he made on the campaign trail.” “Her parents originally agreed to help her pay for school, but they had to renege on their promise.” “I wanted to dog sit for my friend, but I had to renege on my offer when I found out she has four huge Dobermans.” “After he reneged on his promise to drive me to the job interview, I felt like I couldn’t trust him anymore.”

“Renege” Origins

The word dates back to the mid 1500’s. It comes from the Latin “negāre,” meaning to deny or refuse. In the Medieval period, “renegāre meant to renounce a belief, but by the late 1700s, it had evolved to mean changing your mind or going back on a promise. Some people mistakenly believe that “renege” is a slang abbreviation of the word “renegotiate,” but this isn’t the correct origin of the term—although the two do actually have similar meanings.

How do you spell and pronounce “renege”?

The correct spelling of the word is “renege.” It is commonly misspelled, and many people write it as “reneg” without the final “e.” This is likely because the word ends with a hard “g” sound, rather than the “j” sound that “ge” typically makes. “Renege” is pronounced “ruh - neg” or “rih - neg.”

Related Terms

Cop out “Cop out” means to back out of something, break a promise, or try to get out of a responsibility. It’s essentially a synonym for renege, but unlike renege, it can be used as a noun or a verb. Here are some examples: “I got so mad at her for copping out on our dinner plans. She said she was sick, but I think she just didn’t want to go.” “He said that he got stuck in traffic, but I think that’s just a cop-out. He should have left earlier.”

Get cold feet Like “renege,” the idiom “get cold feet” means failing to follow through on something you originally planned to do. The main difference is that someone might “renege” on a deal for any reason, but “getting cold feet” usually implies backing out of something because you’re scared or nervous. “The night before her wedding, she got major cold feet. She actually decided to call the whole thing off because she wasn’t sure they were right for each other.” “They were about to make an offer on the house, but they got cold feet. They decided it was too expensive, so now they’re looking for something else.”

Chicken out To “chicken out” means to decide not to do something because you’re too afraid. It's pretty much a synonym for “getting cold feet.” Here are some examples: “I was planning to ask her out on a date, but I chickened out when I saw her.” “She was going to stand up to her boss at the meeting, but she ended up chickening out.

Backpedal To “backpedal” means to change your opinion or go back on something, like you would if you pedaled in the reverse direction on a bicycle. For example: “She promised she would cover all my expenses if I came on the bachelorette trip, but now she’s backpedalling and saying she can only cover my plane ticket.” “When I called him out for saying problematic things, he started to backpedal and claim that he didn’t actually mean them.”