renounce (v.) - usage

[Tomasz Klimkiewicz]

Hello Everyone,

Experts' help needed again. My current problem involves the usage of the verb 'renounce'. Is it correct to say 'renounce the contract' with the intended meaning: 'to abandon execution of the contract without fulfilment of its provisions'? If so, do I need a preposition after the verb?

Honestly, I haven't found a similar context in the dictionaries available to me at the moment. Any suggestions of a better verb expressing the same idea?

Thank you in advance.

Regards,

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by Tomasz Klimkiewicz

Hello Everyone,

Experts' help needed again. My current problem involves the usage of the verb 'renounce'. Is it correct to say 'renounce the contract' with the intended meaning: 'to abandon execution of the contract without fulfilment of its provisions'? If so, do I need a preposition after the verb?

Honestly, I haven't found a similar context in the dictionaries available to me at the moment. Any suggestions of a better verb expressing the same idea?

Thank you in advance.

Regards,

I'm not sure to tell you the truth. "renounce" to me means give up; disown, with the assumption that whatever was renounced by X was at one time the property of X. Given that a contract requires two parties, I'm not sure if it works well with "renounce". :?

As Casiopea explains, "renounce" would be better used in these examples:

-I've renounced my religion
-Renounce thy father and renounce thy name (to paraphrase Shakespeare)

In the case of the contract, a better verb could be to reneg:

-He reneged on his contract, saying that he just couldn't pay for such poor work

[Tomasz Klimkiewicz]

Thank you very much for your input. It's a reliable forum.

In the meantime, I sent a draft of the document with the 'renounce the contract' phrase, but as I say, it's a draft and many pragraphs will have to be modified and the wording of many sentences changed. I hadn't been able to find anything better so I decided to leave it as it was.

It has just occurred to me that the following mght be correct and express just what I want:

'Neither party may unilaterally cancel the contract.'

Perhaps you can think of something more appropriate, given the broader context?

Thank you for your time.

Regards,

[twostep]

Originally Posted by Tomasz Klimkiewicz

Thank you very much for your input. It's a reliable forum.

In the meantime, I sent a draft of the document with the 'renounce the contract' phrase, but as I say, it's a draft and many pragraphs will have to be modified and the wording of many sentences changed. I hadn't been able to find anything better so I decided to leave it as it was.

It has just occurred to me that the following mght be correct and express just what I want:

'Neither party may unilaterally cancel the contract.'

Perhaps you can think of something more appropriate, given the broader context?

Thank you for your time.

Regards,

Are you writing this "in the real world" or is it for school/translation/legal purposes? Please let me know.
In a businessletter please keep it short and sweet - this contract is uncancellable unless agreed to by both parties. There is not contract that is not cancellable somehow.

[Tomasz Klimkiewicz]

Hello, Twostep,

I'm glad you popped in with a suggestion.

And yes, the sentence is from a formal document to be used in real life, but the English version is for informative purposes only.

I like your wording with 'The contract...' as the subject, but I must stick to the orginal version (i.e. Polish) unless a significant departure is justified by the impossibility to maintain the word order without making a syntax error. In the original version, the sentence begins with 'Neither party...'.

Thanks again

[twostep]

Originally Posted by Tomasz Klimkiewicz

Hello, Twostep,

I'm glad you popped in with a suggestion.

And yes, the sentence is from a formal document to be used in real life, but the English version is for informative purposes only.

I like your wording with 'The contract...' as the subject, but I must stick to the orginal version (i.e. Polish) unless a significant departure is justified by the impossibility to maintain the word order without making a syntax error. In the original version, the sentence begins with 'Neither party...'.

Thanks again

I know the feeling. Keep on trucking ...