relinquish

verb

ri-ˈliŋ-kwish How to pronounce relinquish (audio)
Definition of relinquishnext
1
as in to surrender
to give (something) over to the control or possession of another usually under duress the boy reluctantly relinquished the illegal fireworks to the police officer

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to abdicate
to give up (as a position of authority) formally the retiring CEO relinquished his position to the company's vice president with very mixed feelings

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word relinquish different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of relinquish are abandon, resign, surrender, waive, and yield. While all these words mean "to give up completely," relinquish usually does not imply strong feeling but may suggest some regret, reluctance, or weakness.

relinquished her crown

Where would abandon be a reasonable alternative to relinquish?

While the synonyms abandon and relinquish are close in meaning, abandon stresses finality and completeness in giving up.

abandoned all hope

In what contexts can resign take the place of relinquish?

The synonyms resign and relinquish are sometimes interchangeable, but resign emphasizes voluntary relinquishment or sacrifice without struggle.

resigned her position

When is surrender a more appropriate choice than relinquish?

In some situations, the words surrender and relinquish are roughly equivalent. However, surrender implies a giving up after a struggle to retain or resist.

surrendered their claims

When can waive be used instead of relinquish?

The words waive and relinquish can be used in similar contexts, but waive implies conceding or forgoing with little or no compulsion.

waived the right to a trial by jury

When could yield be used to replace relinquish?

Although the words yield and relinquish have much in common, yield implies concession or compliance or submission to force.

the troops yielded ground grudgingly

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of relinquish And at the counter, where chef and guest are separated by little more than a stretch of the hand, everything rests on precision, presence and the quiet thrill of relinquishing control to the chef’s capable hands. —Rachel Ingram, Robb Report, 10 May 2026 In October 2025, Rollins suffered a torn rotator cuff at Crown Jewel, was forced to relinquish the World Heavyweight Championship and was kicked out of The Vision. —Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 9 May 2026 The defending world champions — who have the Lakers in the blender at present — were built largely through that trade, in which the Clippers relinquished their first-round pick in 2022, 2024, 2026 plus pick swap rights in 2023 and 2025. —Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2026 The Monarchs went 8-1 in league play before relinquishing the district title. —Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for relinquish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for relinquish
  1. surrender
  2. abdicate
  3. render
  4. resign
  5. deliver
  6. renounce
  7. cede
Verb
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of surrender
Verb
  • Too many people have abdicated their collective responsibility.
    — KEN BURNS, Rolling Stone, 19 May 2026
  • Congress has abdicated its power to an oligarchy of billionaires.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 May 2026
Definition of abdicate
Verb
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of render
Verb
  • 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
  • Zilis, who by that point had children with Musk, resigned from the OpenAI board.
    — Ashley Capoot,Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 18 May 2026
Definition of resign
Verb
  • Little Caesars Arena was as energetic as its been all season, and Detroit didn’t deliver, sending Pistons fans for an early exit.
    — Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 18 May 2026
  • Hosted by Shania Twain, the award show delivered on emotional moments, fun surprises and plenty of performances.
    — Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 18 May 2026
Definition of deliver
Verb
  • Beijing has never renounced the use of force to unify Taiwan with the Chinese mainland.
    — Jan Camenzind Broomby, NPR, 14 May 2026
  • Everyone in our state should renounce and denounce these defamatory attacks.
    — Ashley Paul, CBS News, 12 May 2026
Definition of renounce
Verb
  • After the fallout over the Epstein files’ revelations on Mandelson, Rayner led a lawmakers’ revolt to force the government to cede control to Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee to decide which documents should be released into the public domain.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 May 2026
  • Backemeyer raised more than $350,000 to win his primary, suggesting the party is unlikely to cede the field.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 14 May 2026
Definition of cede

Browse Nearby Words

religiousness
relinquish
relinquished
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Cite this Entry

“Relinquish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relinquish. Accessed 20 May. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on relinquish

Nglish: Translation of relinquish for Spanish Speakers

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