释义 |
avow I. \əˈvau̇\ transitive verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: Middle English avowen, from Old French avouer, from Latin advocare to summon, call to one's aid 1. obsolete : to acknowledge (a person) as one's own : acknowledge with approval (an agent's actions) 2. a. : to assert or declare as a fact : claim < the modest procedure is not to avow loudly … our love of truth — G.W.Sherburn > < I can … avow him to be the best family a boy ever had — W.J.Locke > b. : to acknowledge and assert (an act, a purpose) with frankness and determination : declare openly, bluntly, and without shame < the frankness to avow poverty — G.B.Shaw > 3. law : to acknowledge and justify (an act done); specifically : to make an avowry of Synonyms: see acknowledge, assert II. noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English, from avowen to avow, to bind by a vow, from Middle French avouer, from a- (from Latin ad-) + vouer to vow — more at vow archaic : a solemn promise : vow |