1
as in to relinquish
to give (something) over to the control or possession of another usually under duress
she reluctantly ceded her position as leader
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to assign
to give over the legal possession or ownership of
Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States as part of the settlement of the Spanish-American War
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to abdicate
to give up (as a position of authority) formally
the President officially cedes his position on the January 20th immediately following the presidential election
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cede
The government and its Russian allies were able to rally, but not before ceding effective control over the north.
—
Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 10 May 2026
The Sixers had momentum — a chance to steal (yes, steal) a game against a far (yes, far) superior Knicks team and salvage what was left of their playoff hopes after ceding the first two games of the second-round series at Madison Square Garden.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 9 May 2026
In this instance, the goalie cedes a lot of ice behind him to cover off a pass.
—Fluto Shinzawa, New York Times, 9 May 2026
For example, Congress has routinely failed to pass an annual budget on time and instead relies on continuing resolutions, has ceded its war powers responsibilities and has conducted insufficient oversight of the executive branch.
—Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for cede
Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 10 May 2026
The Sixers had momentum — a chance to steal (yes, steal) a game against a far (yes, far) superior Knicks team and salvage what was left of their playoff hopes after ceding the first two games of the second-round series at Madison Square Garden.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 9 May 2026
In this instance, the goalie cedes a lot of ice behind him to cover off a pass.
—Fluto Shinzawa, New York Times, 9 May 2026
For example, Congress has routinely failed to pass an annual budget on time and instead relies on continuing resolutions, has ceded its war powers responsibilities and has conducted insufficient oversight of the executive branch.
—Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for cede
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cede
Verb
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There are outs not to be relinquished on the bases.—
Gabriel Burns,
AJC.com,
15 May 2026
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Companies that violate the law could be forced to relinquish their earnings to a federal youth sports fund, from which the money would be used to reduce participation costs for families, provide scholarships and keep local sporting venues free for community use.—
Kenny Jacoby,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Under current law the Legislature cannot, merely by passing a bill, grant to the attorney general prosecutorial authority that the Texas constitution expressly assigns to district attorneys.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 May 2026
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Commencing an investigation, Bernal unwittingly assigns Dahlia and his nephew Charlie, an ex-cop and Dahlia’s ex-lover, leading to a fraught reunion.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Too many people have abdicated their collective responsibility.—
KEN BURNS,
Rolling Stone,
19 May 2026
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Congress has abdicated its power to an oligarchy of billionaires.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 May 2026
Verb
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No one ate up more innings than Klein, who struck out two and surrendered one of the two hits the Dodgers gave up across two innings.—
Liana Handler,
Los Angeles Times,
16 May 2026
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Brown again tossed four shutout innings, surrendering just one hit while walking one and striking out seven on 65 pitches.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
15 May 2026
Verb
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The bright spots Saturday, at least in the early stages, was the play of the Evans defense, new quarterback Will Jackson and transfer running backs O’Ryan Hartfield, from Ocoee, and Davion Williams, from Poinciana.—
Chris Hays,
The Orlando Sentinel,
17 May 2026
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The sentiment transfers well to potato salad.—
Shilpa Uskokovic,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
17 May 2026
Verb
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In other Western countries, many feel resigned to a lifetime of renting with little hope of following their parents and grandparents’ footsteps up the property ladder.—
Chris Lau,
CNN Money,
18 May 2026
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Zilis, who by that point had children with Musk, resigned from the OpenAI board.—
Ashley Capoot,Lora Kolodny,
CNBC,
18 May 2026
Verb
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The beautiful array of their divergent sizes and pelts coalesced as oils on canvas and rendered their exploits almost dreamlike.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
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Nvidia’s GPUs, first developed in 1999 for rendering graphics on computers and gaming consoles, function by breaking complex computing problems into smaller tasks and resolving them simultaneously.—
Matthew Chin,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
Verb
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Actually, that last part probably conveys an unfair French stereotype.—
Mark Dent,
HubSpot,
15 May 2026
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Stay neutral and matter of fact, and aim for a lower pitch to convey authority.—
Jessica Chen,
CNBC,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cede.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cede. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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