Did you know?
If you ever find yourself accused of refusing to recuse yourself, look on the bright side: you may be in a legal predicament, but you’ve also got a great occasion to learn some etymology. Accuse and recuse not only share space in the vocabulary of the courtroom, they both ultimately trace back to the Latin word causa, meaning “legal case,” “reason,” or “cause.” The current legal use of recuse to mean “to disqualify (oneself) as a judge” didn’t settle into frequent use until the 19th century. Broader application soon followed, and you can now recuse yourself from such things as debates and decisions as well as court cases.
Examples of recuse in a Sentence
Emma Withrow, Baltimore Sun, 31 Jan. 2025
Hopper recused herself from the investigation into her old friend’s death.
—Ariane Lange, Sacramento Bee, 26 Jan. 2025
However, Attorney General Letitia James recused herself from the case and appointed a special prosecutor to handle the investigation.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2025
Mona Tedford Rindy, who was then the chair of the Public Employees Retirement System, had asked the commission whether those legislators on the pension board had a conflict of interest and should recuse themselves from voting on whether to continue the lawsuit.
—Jacob Orledge, ProPublica, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for recuse 
Dictionary Entries Near recuse
Cite this Entry
“Recuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recuse. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
recuse
transitive verb
California Penal CodeAnglo-French recuser to refuse, from Middle French, from Latin recusare, from re- back + causari to give a reason, from causa cause, reason
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