To withdraw or repudiate formally and publicly (opinions formerly expressed); to contradict, as a former declaration; to take back openly; to retract; to recall.
To revoke a declaration or proposition; to unsay what has been said; to retract; as, convince me that I am wrong, and I will recant.
The reversal of position due to a change in beliefs or evidence sufficient to reverse a conclusion.
formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure; "He retracted his earlier statements about his religion"; "She abjured her beliefs"
To retract. Used especially in regard to a charge of ecclesiastical misdoing or heresy, the word meant to repent of a prohibited or heretical act.
To recant usually means to (publicly or in the presence of relevant officials) state that one has stopped holding a particular opinion, often an opinion which is in defiance of current religious or political dogma. See :wiktionary:recant. It came from Latin re-cantare = "to sing back" or "to sing again".