recanter

Recanter is a noun describing a person who publicly retracts or renounces a previously held belief, statement, or allegiance, often under pressure or for strategic reasons. The term derives from recant, which comes from Latin recantare, meaning to recall or withdraw, with the agentive suffix -er.

Historically, recanters have appeared in religious and political upheavals when authorities demanded conformity. In early modern Europe, individuals accused of heresy or dissent sometimes signed recantations to avoid punishment, even if their changed position was temporary. A prominent example is Galileo Galilei, who, under threat from the Inquisition, publicly recanted his assertion that the Earth orbits the Sun in 1633.

In contemporary use the term is more common in formal or historical writing. A recanter may be someone who retracts a statement after initial endorsement, or a public figure who abandons a stance under pressure. The act is called recantation; the noun recanter is less common in everyday speech but remains standard in scholarly discussions, legal records, or historical accounts. Recantation is distinct from apostasy or renunciation depending on context. See also recantation, apostasy, renunciation.