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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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
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
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
Critics questioned whether the company was selling out by ceding to OpenAI so quickly.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 19 Feb. 2026
Jackson stepped down as president of Rainbow/PUSH in 2023, ceding the reins to a Dallas pastor who left less than a year later.
—Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
Even his 15-minute cameo during the uplifting 2-1 victory at Tottenham on Tuesday was poor, with the 25-year-old repeatedly ceding possession when Newcastle just needed to see the game out.
—Chris Waugh, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2026
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
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
Critics questioned whether the company was selling out by ceding to OpenAI so quickly.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 19 Feb. 2026
Jackson stepped down as president of Rainbow/PUSH in 2023, ceding the reins to a Dallas pastor who left less than a year later.
—Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
Even his 15-minute cameo during the uplifting 2-1 victory at Tottenham on Tuesday was poor, with the 25-year-old repeatedly ceding possession when Newcastle just needed to see the game out.
—Chris Waugh, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ceding
Verb
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Researchers warned about relinquishing autonomy without interpretability.—
Victoria Bousis,
Rolling Stone,
9 Mar. 2026
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Their dreadful February reeks of a team that grew desperate to reap the benefits of a dying method, at least somewhat relinquishing its old, stubborn ways.—
Joel Lorenzi,
New York Times,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The victim involved was identified by her family as Jada West, who reportedly had been bullied since transferring to the school.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
13 Mar. 2026
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Late Friday afternoon, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Thomas Rebull issued a temporary restraining order barring Sarian from accessing or transferring funds from the bank accounts and from presenting himself as a representative of HSA.—
Michelle Marchante,
Miami Herald,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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But UConn faltered in the second half, surrendering a 20-4 run and at one point going nearly eight minutes between field goals.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
7 Mar. 2026
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Second- and third-round picks usually only return depth players at the deadline, but Columbus has acquired a legitimate difference-maker with term beyond this season without surrendering a first-round pick or any prospects.—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Investigators allege the principal at the school instructed the 62-year-old not to be alone with the student, but instead of assigning adult supervision, another student, described as autistic, was present while the two were in the same area.—
Ashley Carnahan,
FOXNews.com,
11 Mar. 2026
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Traders expect the next rate reduction to come in September, and were assigning about a 43% chance of a second move before the end of the year, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.—
Jeff Cox,
CNBC,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Big Tent Coalition was a political action committee founded by Tim Ozinga, R-Mokena, who was state representative in the 37th House District before abruptly resigning in April 2024.—
Olivia Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Mar. 2026
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But why not try to maximize a draft pick by gracefully dropping down to the 10-seed and resigning yourself to a one-and-done?—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Her old septic system was not designed to handle the soggy soil in her leach field, rendering the system unusable for six months out of the year.—
Tim Carter,
Hartford Courant,
14 Mar. 2026
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Despite the contrivance, Jewson makes fascinating theater out of this, flipping the archetypal image of the ballerina, and therefore femininity, on its head and rendering it as a kind of weapon, forged by years of putting up with enormous pain, against a world beset by patriarchal violence.—
Lé Baltar,
IndieWire,
14 Mar. 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 17 Mar. 2026.
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