Abdicate is most often used to describe a head of state or member of a royal family voluntarily renouncing a position. It may also refer to the act of failing to fulfill a duty a responsibility.

Any government which fail to act in that capacity have abdicated a primary responsibility. He has abdicated his responsibilities and he should resign. About 20 years ago, the cricket authority …

ABDICATED definition: 1. past simple and past participle of abdicate 2. If a king or queen abdicates, he or she makes a…. Learn more.

Sometimes someone in power might decide to give up that power and step down from his or her position. When they do that, they abdicate their authority, giving up all duties and perks of the job. The original meaning of the verb abdicate came from the combination of the Latin ab- "away" and dicare "proclaim."

When one branch abdicates its duty, it throws the entire system out of whack. But just because everyone before them has abdicated their responsibilities doesn't mean they should, too. Why …

The king abdicated the throne. The government abdicated [= abandoned] its responsibility to provide a good education to all citizens.

Definition of abdicate verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. [intransitive, transitive] to give up the position of being king, queen or emperor. He abdicated in favour of his son. abdicate something She was forced to abdicate the throne of Spain.