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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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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
Once the dominant player in chips, Intel has struggled to keep pace with rivals over the past decade, ceding ground to Qualcomm and Nvidia in crucial areas like mobile and AI.
—
Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026
That was the fate of the East European Communist dictatorships, in a variety of ways—Wojciech Jaruzelski of Poland reluctantly ceding power to Lech Wałęsa and Polish democrats, or Nicolae Ceauşescu ending up riddled with his soldiers’ bullets.
—Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 4 Jan. 2026
This may require ceding national sovereignty and reducing unanimous decision-making in some cases.
—Amanda Sloat, Time, 2 Jan. 2026
Holmes was the Bombers’ closer in 2024, before ceding his job to Weaver late in the season.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 2026
Their 12-2-0 mark when opening the scoring is decidedly stronger than their 9-14-2 clip when ceding the first tally.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 30 Dec. 2025
The Packers lost out on the NFC North title with the defeat, ceding it to the Chicago Bears.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 28 Dec. 2025
And ceding control over parts of Ukrainian territory could deal a serious blow to national morale.
—Arkansas Online, 25 Dec. 2025
Newsom, who has faced stiff criticism this year for ceding political ground on trans athletes’ rights, has a history of invoking Reagan’s legacy to reinforce his own bipartisan bona fides.
—Samantha Riedel, Them., 17 Dec. 2025
Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026
That was the fate of the East European Communist dictatorships, in a variety of ways—Wojciech Jaruzelski of Poland reluctantly ceding power to Lech Wałęsa and Polish democrats, or Nicolae Ceauşescu ending up riddled with his soldiers’ bullets.
—Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 4 Jan. 2026
This may require ceding national sovereignty and reducing unanimous decision-making in some cases.
—Amanda Sloat, Time, 2 Jan. 2026
Holmes was the Bombers’ closer in 2024, before ceding his job to Weaver late in the season.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 2026
Their 12-2-0 mark when opening the scoring is decidedly stronger than their 9-14-2 clip when ceding the first tally.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 30 Dec. 2025
The Packers lost out on the NFC North title with the defeat, ceding it to the Chicago Bears.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 28 Dec. 2025
And ceding control over parts of Ukrainian territory could deal a serious blow to national morale.
—Arkansas Online, 25 Dec. 2025
Newsom, who has faced stiff criticism this year for ceding political ground on trans athletes’ rights, has a history of invoking Reagan’s legacy to reinforce his own bipartisan bona fides.
—Samantha Riedel, Them., 17 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ceding
Verb
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The Buffalo Bills lasted seven weeks in the pole position before relinquishing the title to the Kansas City Chiefs.—
Scott Phillips,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
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Hamas has shown no signs of relinquishing power or its weapons.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Carrington spent his first two years at Minnesota before transferring to Tulsa last year and Wisconsin for this season.—
Andy Greder,
Twin Cities,
14 Jan. 2026
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After her time at Austin Prep, Carey played two seasons at Stonehill before transferring to BU last year.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The United States, in other words, is not just abdicating its role in the current international system.—
ELIZABETH ECONOMY,
Foreign Affairs,
9 Dec. 2025
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After all, Perfidia explodes other archetypes, too—for instance, abdicating her roles as a mother and romantic partner to continue her work.—
Anna Holmes,
The Atlantic,
26 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Green Bay has struggled mightily against the run, surrendering an average of 198 rushing yards in the last three games.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
10 Jan. 2026
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The suspect drove around the area before surrendering to police in Atwater Village.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Broncos offered video evidence showing Oden, a senior forward, committing five fouls — and referee David Walker making the wrong hand signal to the official scorer on his third, assigning it to sophomore forward Pharaoh Compton instead.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Jan. 2026
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Along the way, fans began assigning the corgi her own superstar nickname.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Runcie ended up resigning in 2021, after a statewide grand jury indicted him on a perjury charge.—
Scott Travis,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Jan. 2026
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Instead of resigning yourself to this mess, this hanging toiletry bag is an excellent storage hack that will keep everything from hair products to skincare in one neat, easy-to-locate pouch.—
Merrell Readman,
Travel + Leisure,
3 Jan. 2026
Verb
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For the white men, the experience of prison was the veil that now concealed them, rendering them strangers and exiles from the world outside.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Jan. 2026
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The committee approved the report in under a minute, without discussion, rubber-stamping false compliance and rendering our transparency laws meaningless.—
Bobby Block,
Sun Sentinel,
13 Jan. 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
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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 15 Jan. 2026.
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