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
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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
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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
After walking Freeman, Ashby ceded the stage to Misiorowski.
—
Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
Duffy has repeatedly pushed back against doubts that the United States could be ceding ground in the new space race.
—Denise Chow, NBC news, 16 Oct. 2025
Hamas has refused to lay down its arms and cede governance of the area yet.
—Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 16 Oct. 2025
The dramatic imagery memorializes the successful sendoff for Starship V2, which now cedes the spotlight to its even bigger successors.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cede
Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
Duffy has repeatedly pushed back against doubts that the United States could be ceding ground in the new space race.
—Denise Chow, NBC news, 16 Oct. 2025
Hamas has refused to lay down its arms and cede governance of the area yet.
—Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 16 Oct. 2025
The dramatic imagery memorializes the successful sendoff for Starship V2, which now cedes the spotlight to its even bigger successors.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cede
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cede
Verb
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Sol Price had relinquished his official leadership role, and Robert’s fifteen-year-old son had recently died of cancer, devastating the family.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
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In Madagascar, Rajoelina has shown no signs of relinquishing power following his removal.—
Nimi Princewill,
CNN Money,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Pima Critical Incident Team was activated after the incident with the Oro Valley Police Department assigned to lead the investigation, Adger said.—
Julie Mendes,
AZCentral.com,
23 Oct. 2025
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Budj Bim assigned the weeping she-oak (Casuarina) trees, whose whispering voices can be heard in the wind, to be the guardian spirits of the landscape.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Far from abdicating responsibility, these young adults were embracing it and moving, however slowly, into their future roles of caring for us.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
18 Oct. 2025
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Will Hamas abdicate any role in the future governance of Palestinians?—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Steelers' defense was absolutely shredded by 40-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco and the Cincinnati Bengals' offense on Thursday night, surrendering 470 total yards in the 33-31 loss.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Oct. 2025
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Resistance from African Leaders As youth protests grow stronger, African governments, particularly those that are military-led, are unlikely to surrender their positions without a fight.—
Nimi Princewill,
CNN Money,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Holt, who has six cases pending in federal court over civil rights violation claims, said as soon as he was transferred, the state began trying to get the cases dismissed as moot, citing his relocation to West Virginia.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
22 Oct. 2025
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Statistics shared on their website shows that only approximately 2 million dogs were adopted last year, 554,000 were returned to their owner, 524,000 were transferred to other organizations, and 334,000 were euthanized.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As a direct result of this, businesses end up with managers who aren’t confident in their ability to lead, and who struggle to deal with the various challenges that come with managing people, leading both employees and struggling managers to resign.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
23 Oct. 2025
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Wall resigned from lobbying for Mooresville BTR a month after the Centralina vote accepting the grant.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Jenner went with a cohesive look, pairing the light brown boots with a Fendi suit rendered in a rich chocolate hue.—
Kelsey Stewart,
Footwear News,
23 Oct. 2025
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That said, while each companion’s abilities bring something to the table, they get downed by enemies a lot, which renders their abilities unusable until they can be revived.—
Jason Fanelli,
Rolling Stone,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Lawler, the best known of the young actors thanks to her breakout work in Station Eleven, brings welcome awkward humor, while Stack, with the series’ most complex character, conveys an uneasy grasp on sanity that the rest of the show isn’t really prepared to deal with.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Oct. 2025
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Evocative animation, with subdued blue hues and soft lighting, conveys the flirtatiousness of their rapid connection in a scene where the two swim together in a pool at night.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cede.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cede. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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