disclaimer

/dɪsˈkleɪmər/

/dɪsˈkleɪmə/

Other forms: disclaimers

A disclaimer is a statement that rejects a legal claim. If you're speaking on Russian history and don't want to be quoted, offer a disclaimer that all your information comes from Wikipedia and you're not responsible for its accuracy.

A claim is the assertion that you have a right to something, so a disclaimer is the opposite: the rejection of a claim. If you don't want to keep the money you're inheriting, you can file a disclaimer and pass all the money on to a charity. Although disclaimer comes from talking about legal claims, we also use it in general to mean "denial" or "repudiation."

Definitions of disclaimer

1. noun

   (law) a voluntary repudiation of a person's legal claim to something
   type of:

   renunciation, repudiation

   rejecting or disowning or disclaiming as invalid
2. noun

   denial of any connection with or knowledge of
   synonyms: disavowal

   types:

   abjuration, recantation, retraction

   a disavowal or taking back of a previous assertion

   backdown, climb-down, withdrawal

   a retraction of a previously held position

   type of:

   denial

   the act of refusing to comply (as with a request)