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to renounce, repudiate, or retract, especially with formal solemnity; recant:
to abjure one’s errors.
to renounce or give up under oath; forswear:
to abjure allegiance.
to avoid or shun.
Contemporary Examples

Haqqani invests great hope that a decision by Pakistan’s military to abjure politics may correct these trends.
David’s Book Club: Pakistan, Between Mosque and Military David Frum April 22, 2012

To persuade Iran to abjure weapons, the United States will have to make some kind of deal.
Obama Sure Sounds Like He’s Bluffing Iran David Frum March 2, 2012

He’s been forced to abjure his most important achievement as governor, his healthcare plan.
Romney: Too Weak? David Frum July 14, 2012

Historical Examples

If this be so, the instinct which has led him gradually to abjure the earlier forms is a true one.
Essays Arthur Christopher Benson

I know it has been a fault of my own, too; but from this moment I abjure it as I would the service of hell!
The Letters of Robert Burns Robert Burns

After a long examination he was desired to abjure, which he refused without the least hesitation.
Fox’s Book of Martyrs John Foxe

I cannot abjure that world which contains the fondest object that links me to life.
Gomez Arias Joaqun Telesforo de Trueba y Coso

Henry V. was forced to abjure investiture before he could again receive his imperial crown from papal hands.
The Rise of the Mediaeval Church Alexander Clarence Flick

They then ordered her “to abjure” publicly the various things of which she was accused.
The Story of Rouen Sir Theodore Andrea Cook

But at the age of eighty, I seek quiet, and abjure contention.
The Domestic Life of Thomas Jefferson Compiled From Family Letters and Reminiscences Sarah N. Randolph

verb (transitive)
to renounce or retract, esp formally, solemnly, or under oath
to abstain from or reject
v.

early 15c., from Middle French abjurer or directly from Latin abiurare “deny on oath,” from ab- “away” (see ab-) + iurare “to swear,” related to ius (genitive iuris) “law” (see jurist). Related: Abjured; abjuring.