abdicate['abdɪkeɪt]
verb
1(of a monarch) renounce the throne.
2fail to fulfil or undertake (a duty).
Derivatives
abdicationnoun
abdicatornoun
Origin
C16: from L.abdicat-,abdicare'renounce', fromab-'away, from' +dicare'declare'.
Thesaurusabdicateverb
1the king abdicated in 1936: RESIGN, retire, stand down, step down, bow out, renounce the throne;archaicdemit.
2Ferdinand abdicated the throne: RESIGN FROM, relinquish, renounce, give up, surrender, vacate, cede;Lawdisclaim;formalabjure.
3the state abdicated all responsibility for their welfare: DISOWN, reject, renounce, give up, refuse, relinquish, repudiate, abandon, turn one's back on, wash one's hands of;formalabjure;poetic/literaryforsake.