as in to resign
to give up (as a position of authority) formally
the revolutionary government forced Nicholas II to abdicate the Russian throne
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Recent Examples of abdicate
Congress has abdicated its power to an oligarchy of billionaires.
—
Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 May 2026
Dinello was right, and The Late Show eventually became late night’s ratings leader—a throne that CBS is now voluntarily abdicating.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 15 May 2026
Congress abdicating its authority.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Congress has abdicated its power to an oligarchy of billionaires.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for abdicate
Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 May 2026
Dinello was right, and The Late Show eventually became late night’s ratings leader—a throne that CBS is now voluntarily abdicating.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 15 May 2026
Congress abdicating its authority.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Congress has abdicated its power to an oligarchy of billionaires.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for abdicate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abdicate
Verb
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Mayor Vi Lyles, who plans to resign as soon as an appointment is made, rarely intervenes when discussion goes awry and often loses track of motions.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
15 June 2026
-
Earlier this year, the CSU system ended a three-year legal battle with two former Cal State San Bernardino administrators who alleged they were fired or pushed to resign after reporting gender inequities, discrimination and harassment.—
Tarini Mehta,
Sacbee.com,
15 June 2026
Verb
-
The military relinquished its remaining ownership stake in the 1990s.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
10 June 2026
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The compromise is mainly symbolic since FCAS is a generic name for such systems and not unique to this plan, but officials have been seeking a formula allowing Macron to relinquish the core fighter without having to declare the whole project dead.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
9 June 2026
Verb
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Jafarzadeh highlighted Khabiri as a symbol of the regime’s repression of athletes, as Khabiri was a rising soccer star who became captain of Iran’s national team before being arrested and asked to appear on television to renounce his political beliefs.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
10 June 2026
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Her first book, Notes on a Foreign Country (2018), seeks to take stock of, and renounce, American solipsism abroad.—
Suzy Hansen,
The New York Review of Books,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abdicate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abdicate. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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