relinquish

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 Speaking Thursday, Araghchi said Iran was open to enhanced monitoring by international inspectors but would not relinquish its right to pursue nuclear energy, including uranium enrichment. Frederik Pleitgen, CNN Money, 23 May 2025 For birth families, relinquishing a child was not only shameful but a badge of poverty. Barbara Demick, New Yorker, 23 May 2025 But nothing Akasha’s old friend said could persuade Akasha to relinquish his empire. Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 22 May 2025 Harvard University will relinquish 175-year-old photographs believed to be the earliest taken of enslaved people to a South Carolina museum devoted to African American history as part of a settlement with one of the subjects’ descendants. Leah Willingham, Christian Science Monitor, 28 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for relinquish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for relinquish
Verb
  • Pickard’s only goal surrendered was the one from Sam Reinhart that tied Game 4 with 19.5 seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime.
    David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 14 June 2025
  • The club led 3-0 before surrendering a pair of late goals.
    Ryan Finley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2025
Verb
  • Queen Margrethe later abdicated on Jan. 14, 2024, making her elder son King Frederik X of Denmark.
    Janine Henni, People.com, 6 June 2025
  • Khalil is the bridge through which the film makes its arguments about the hypocrisy of élite liberal education, which feeds on ideals of free inquiry and free speech and abdicates its responsibility in freeing people.
    Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 17 May 2025
Verb
  • Script is by mega TV producer Taylor Sheridan, who was commissioned by Warner Bros prior to his current overall deal with Paramount, with the latter granting Taylor’s request to render services, within Paramount’s exclusive window.
    Matt Grobar, Deadline, 13 June 2025
  • Without a levy, the Tax Court has no authority to render such conclusions.
    Jenna Sundel Jason Lemon, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 June 2025
Verb
  • For example, ​​the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and almost a dozen other lawyers were either forced to resign or chose to leave their posts over the DOJ's handling of the Eric Adams corruption case.
    Sophie Clark Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025
  • One candidate, Cuomo, was handed the keys to New York State, but resigned in disgrace in a blaze of corruption, mismanagement, and abuse.
    Brad Lander, New York Daily News, 6 June 2025
Verb
  • Some people think forceps by doctors delivering babies in the ‘50s caused brain damage in infants.
    Time, Time, 10 June 2025
  • France’s Pil’s Adventures show will launch in several months’ time and the creative team are hoping this set of 52 mini adventures can deliver sustained success.
    Max Goldbart, Deadline, 10 June 2025
Verb
  • Paul was severely ill, so he was excused from appearing, but Vladimir was taken away by the Bolsheviks after refusing to renounce his father.
    Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 June 2025
  • The Authority never kept its promises to renounce terrorism and accept Israel.
    Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 6 June 2025
Verb
  • In proposing the cuts, the administration has called for ceding certain federal parklands to the states.
    Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2025
  • Vladivostok was ceded to Tsarist Russia in 1860 under the Treaty of Peking, which established the border between China and Russia along the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, as indicated on Newsweek's maps in this article.
    Isabel van Brugen John Feng, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Relinquish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relinquish. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.

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