As with many legal and political terms, recuse and resign are often confused with each other.聽The differences between these terms are important to understand.
黑料网 does recuse mean?
To recuse聽means “to withdraw from聽performing legal duties聽because of potential bias or a conflict of interest.”
This can apply to judges, jurors, lawyers, and so on, but it’s specific to the prejudice those individuals may exhibit. Although the word once had a variety of uses (now obsolete), it is mostly used within the context of law now.
For example, in March of 2017, then Attorney General Jeff Sessions was asked to recuse聽himself from Justice Department investigations into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. When he did so, he was not resigning from his position as Attorney General, but simply removing himself from this specific investigation due to potential conflict of interest or biased judgment.
Recused is frequently used to discuss how judges handle conflicts of interest: The judge has a personal connection to the defendant and will need to recuse herself from the case. Or, I suggested to the judge he should recuse himself from this high-profile case due to his public views on health care reform.
Recuse was first recorded in 1350鈥�1400 and is ultimately from the Latin term 谤别肠奴蝉腻谤别 meaning 鈥渢o demur, object.鈥�
黑料网 does resign mean?
Resign most commonly means “to give up one鈥檚 job or position.”
When used this way, resign can be used without an object, as in He resigned yesterday, or with one, as in She is expected to resign her position. In its general sense, resign means to yield or submit, as in When he knew he couldn鈥檛 possibly win the match, he decided to resign.聽
Resign has been used to mean 鈥渜uit鈥� or 鈥測ield鈥� since at least the 1300s. It is ultimately derived from the Latin verb 谤别蝉颈驳苍腻谤别, meaning 鈥済ive up鈥� or 鈥渦nseal, invalidate, destroy.鈥�
When used in the sense of leaving a position, with quit, but the two words can imply different things.
To say that someone quit their job usually (though not always) implies that they left because they didn鈥檛 like something about it. When someone聽resigns, it can be for positive, negative, or neutral reasons. For example, a politician might resign due to a scandal, or an employee might resign to protest a policy they consider unethical. A person might also resign because they鈥檙e moving or they want to change their career. Sometimes, people are given the option to resign instead of being fired. This especially happens in governmental or political appointments.
Resign can also mean 鈥渢o give oneself up to a feeling or circumstance,鈥� as in I just have to resign myself to the fact that I鈥檒l never be a professional bowler.
A quick recap
- Recuse means “to withdraw from performing legal duties because of potential bias.”
- Resign means “to formally give up a position, regardless of reason.”
Resign and recuse聽are two words that both refer to tricky situations that come up, often in the workplace. They can be handled with grace and dignity鈥攕o here’s hoping you’re not the one who caused trouble if you find you must recuse yourself or resign!
Sometimes you really do need to throw in the towel … but you need a more professional and accurate way of saying so. Here are some exceptional alternatives to saying, “I quit!”
