1
as in relinquishing
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 transferring
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in abdicating
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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Recent Examples of ceding
But others can ask to maintain more creative control if interested, rather than the traditional practice of ceding it to the industry.
—
Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 29 Mar. 2026
Boulee gave the two parties a deadline to agree on a mediator and come to the table, but with the deadline approaching, officials say neither side was ceding any ground.
—Dan Raby, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2026
Southwest Airlines is cutting service at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, effectively ceding ground to the two giants jockeying for dominance at the hub.
—Dallas Morning News, 13 Mar. 2026
Officials at both districts point to the fact that their current offers to their unions are in line with the recommendations of an independent fact finder and that ceding to union demands would mean major programming cuts for students.
—Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 12 Mar. 2026
Portuguese decolonization and Indonesian interference Since 1520 the Portuguese had maintained a presence on the island of Timor, later obtaining sovereignty over its eastern half in the 19th century and ceding the western half to the Netherlands.
—Agathe Demarolle, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Mar. 2026
But Scrubs builds the new cast members into each episode bit by bit, ceding a little more narrative ground to them with each episode rather than immediately overwhelming their caseload.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 5 Mar. 2026
The latest cliff-hanger, which saw Netflix ceding the bidding war to Paramount late Thursday, had Hollywood and the media worlds agog.
—Rebecca Keegan, NBC news, 27 Feb. 2026
African democracies are faltering, some ceding ground to Russia and China.
—Alexanderia Baker-Haidara, semafor.com, 27 Feb. 2026
Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 29 Mar. 2026
Boulee gave the two parties a deadline to agree on a mediator and come to the table, but with the deadline approaching, officials say neither side was ceding any ground.
—Dan Raby, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2026
Southwest Airlines is cutting service at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, effectively ceding ground to the two giants jockeying for dominance at the hub.
—Dallas Morning News, 13 Mar. 2026
Officials at both districts point to the fact that their current offers to their unions are in line with the recommendations of an independent fact finder and that ceding to union demands would mean major programming cuts for students.
—Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 12 Mar. 2026
Portuguese decolonization and Indonesian interference Since 1520 the Portuguese had maintained a presence on the island of Timor, later obtaining sovereignty over its eastern half in the 19th century and ceding the western half to the Netherlands.
—Agathe Demarolle, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Mar. 2026
But Scrubs builds the new cast members into each episode bit by bit, ceding a little more narrative ground to them with each episode rather than immediately overwhelming their caseload.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 5 Mar. 2026
The latest cliff-hanger, which saw Netflix ceding the bidding war to Paramount late Thursday, had Hollywood and the media worlds agog.
—Rebecca Keegan, NBC news, 27 Feb. 2026
African democracies are faltering, some ceding ground to Russia and China.
—Alexanderia Baker-Haidara, semafor.com, 27 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ceding
Verb
-
The United States has offered Iran a 15-point proposal for a ceasefire that includes it relinquishing control of the strait, but at the same time has ordered thousands more troops to the region — possibly in preparation for a military attempt to wrest the waterway from Iran.—
David Rising,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
-
With concerns growing about a global energy crisis, an Iranian official said Tehran had no intention of relinquishing its tight grip on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Trailing 9-0 after three innings prevented anything that happened in Scottsdale or Toronto from transferring over.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
4 Apr. 2026
-
When in a group, space out to prevent the current from transferring between individuals.—
STAR-TELEGRAM WEATHER BOT,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In its most hostile version, the same qualities are recast as evidence of his succumbing to spectacle and abdicating basic architectural responsibility.—
Julian Rose,
Artforum,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Democratic leaders have accused Congress of abdicating its constitutional role, and some members plan to boycott the address or attend in silent protest.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Tyler Unter threw five scoreless innings before surrendering a pair of runs in the sixth for Santa Margarita.—
Michael Huntley,
Oc Register,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Murakami’s two walks came against Jacob Misiorowski, who struck out 11 while surrendering one run — a leadoff home run by Chase Meidroth — on two hits in five innings.—
LaMond Pope,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The selection committee determines the playoff rankings for the 25 teams, assigning the top 12 teams spots in the playoff bracket.—
Matt Murschel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Lutes allegedly violated the state law through his handling of complaints about one of his sons, by assigning that son training and duties that increased his opportunities to earn OT pay, and by approving the department payroll that included both of his sons’ salaries.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Roy was in his second job running a team in the league, following a three-year tenure with the Avalanche from 2013-16 that included winning the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year and abruptly resigning in the middle of the summer.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 Apr. 2026
-
What the city got from some within the police department was more than 80 pages of complaints, criticisms and concerns about then-police chief Mikael Dahlstrom, allegations that led to him resigning in November after the city decided not to carry out a formal investigation.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Carlton Fisk didn’t retire with the Red Sox, who infamously quote-unquote accidentally mailed his contract a day late, rendering him a free agent.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Officers immediately began rendering aid until the man was taken to a hospital.—
Bryant Reed,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Effectively, Newsom’s slow roll protects him from taking any meaningful actions, thus bequeathing reparations to his successor, like his many other unresolved California issues.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Rewriting society’s decision-making Unlike biased pundits who hem, haw and hedge their bets, Web3 prediction markets cut through noise, bequeathing a signal that feeds into pricing mechanisms themselves.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ceding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ceding. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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