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
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
Stalin invaded in November of 1939, expecting a quick takeover, but the Finns inflicted many times more casualties on the Soviets before eventually ceding 11 percent of their territory and partial control over their foreign affairs.
—Boris Fishman, Travel + Leisure, 8 Feb. 2026
Maybe these choices aren’t driven by a fear of ceding audience attention to TikTok so much as by fear of letting a taut story go slack.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 4 Feb. 2026
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
Stalin invaded in November of 1939, expecting a quick takeover, but the Finns inflicted many times more casualties on the Soviets before eventually ceding 11 percent of their territory and partial control over their foreign affairs.
—Boris Fishman, Travel + Leisure, 8 Feb. 2026
Maybe these choices aren’t driven by a fear of ceding audience attention to TikTok so much as by fear of letting a taut story go slack.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 4 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ceding
Verb
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Payton relinquishing the duties deserves praise.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
25 Feb. 2026
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Riley was the head coach and team president for the Heat’s first NBA championship in 2006 before relinquishing those duties to Erik Spoelstra in 2008.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As someone who frequently spends weekends on the lake or traveling to and from children’s sporting tournaments, durable products that can withstand transferring from the truck to the boat and everywhere in between are necessary.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
6 Mar. 2026
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Coaching staffs don’t have to worry anymore about players transferring after spring practice.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
5 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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In the aftermath of the shooting, video was posted on social media, and commenters raised concerns about police opening fire on a man who appeared in the video to be surrendering.—
Caleb Lunetta,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 Mar. 2026
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Chicagoans like us know something about living alongside violence without surrendering our civic identity.—
Andy Shaw,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Regional Administrative Judge Ray Wheless, who is in charge of assigning visiting judges in Dallas County, said Monday he was asked to stop sending Snipes to Dallas County courts after the allegations were made public and an investigation began.—
Jane Harper,
Dallas Morning News,
2 Mar. 2026
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The prosecutor’s whipsawing stances led Silvaggio to delay assigning the case to a trial judge for a week.—
Jakob Rodgers,
Mercury News,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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So some time has passed since Claire almost died of a gunshot wound and Jamie taught us all that resigning from the Army by way of a note written in your wife’s blood is a viable option.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
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Her mother, Katie Hensle, spent nine years as the head coach of the Chaparrals, compiling a record of 209-99 before resigning in February 2022.—
Rick Cantu,
Austin American Statesman,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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At around minute 23, emergency responders are seen rendering care and checking Martinez's body for exit wounds.—
Camilo Montoya-Galvez,
CBS News,
7 Mar. 2026
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The programmatic shuffle is rendering parts of the old Artemis plan obsolete, leaving major ground hardware half-built and an uncertain future for the Gateway moon-orbiting space station under development.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
6 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 10 Mar. 2026.
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