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
The hosts, after ceding control of Game 1, pressed Miami and made the match scrappy.
—
Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
So many seem eager to be rid of the labors of thought and expression—the very labors that define them as free and autonomous human beings—by ceding them to generative artificial intelligence.
—Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
His mistake has been ceding his power to someone who is emotionally immature and unwilling to see her father in a happy, healthy relationship.
—Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 25 Oct. 2025
The confederacy of tribes was pressured into ceding lands to the state of New York, and further displaced by ensuing frontier settlement.
—Matthew Smith, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2025
Now, Middleton has returned to public duties and ceding the spotlight is apparently been hard for Queen Camilla.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 18 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
The unpalatable alternative for Macron would be dissolving parliament again, ceding to pressure from the far right in particular for another unscheduled cycle of legislative elections.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025
But even after Wayans gives in to tears over ceding the spotlight, the scene cuts to him looking intimidatingly, perhaps triumphantly, into the camera.
—Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 6 Oct. 2025
Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
So many seem eager to be rid of the labors of thought and expression—the very labors that define them as free and autonomous human beings—by ceding them to generative artificial intelligence.
—Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
His mistake has been ceding his power to someone who is emotionally immature and unwilling to see her father in a happy, healthy relationship.
—Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 25 Oct. 2025
The confederacy of tribes was pressured into ceding lands to the state of New York, and further displaced by ensuing frontier settlement.
—Matthew Smith, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2025
Now, Middleton has returned to public duties and ceding the spotlight is apparently been hard for Queen Camilla.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 18 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
The unpalatable alternative for Macron would be dissolving parliament again, ceding to pressure from the far right in particular for another unscheduled cycle of legislative elections.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025
But even after Wayans gives in to tears over ceding the spotlight, the scene cuts to him looking intimidatingly, perhaps triumphantly, into the camera.
—Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 6 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ceding
Verb
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Republicans relinquishing control of one or both chambers of Congress in 2026 will render the president a lame duck for the remainder of his second term, and Democrats have an early 4-point advantage on generic congressional ballot polling.—
Naomi Lim,
The Washington Examiner,
4 Nov. 2025
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McMillon said that as AI continues to proliferate and impact the ways that people’s lives and daily activities work, Walmart needs to stay an active part of the transformation, even if that means relinquishing control of how that technology evolves.—
Meghan Hall,
Sourcing Journal,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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When in a group, space out to prevent the current from transferring between individuals.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Nov. 2025
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That could involve upgrading technology or equipment, or transferring locations to new operators.—
Diana Leyva,
Nashville Tennessean,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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And if that’s true, what would prohibit Congress from just abdicating all responsibility to regulate foreign commerce, for that matter, declare war, to the president.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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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
Verb
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How to Watch Arizona Cardinals vs Dallas Cowboys The Cowboys struggled defensively in their 44-24 road loss to the Denver Broncos last week, surrendering four touchdown passes and 426 yards of offense.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Nov. 2025
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Andrew might not move to Sandringham until after the Christmas holidays, another source said, because giving notice, surrendering the lease and orchestrating the move is expected to take some time.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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One director of the Innocenti, who came aboard in the mid-fifteen-hundreds, simply stopped assigning girls to outside domestic work, owing to rampant rape and abuse.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
11 Nov. 2025
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In the Thursday hearing, Friedman set Curran’s bond at $6,000, assigning a $1,000 for the injunction violation and $5,000 for the battery, records show.—
Devoun Cetoute,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Singer first appeared as an officer in 2007, resigning as vice president in 2010.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
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Three other special elections were held to fill vacancies left by lawmakers resigning before their terms ended, with two of those advancing to runoffs as no candidate received more than 50 percent.—
Daniel Orton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Tagliabue had insisted he be directly involved in all labor negotiations, basically rendering useless the Management Council of club executives that had handled such duties for nearly two decades.—
NPR,
NPR,
9 Nov. 2025
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George Miller spent 40 years building the Mad Max universe, but holds little fear for technology that can recreate a version of his dystopian dust bowl within seconds of rendering a text prompt.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
5 Nov. 2025
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 14 Nov. 2025.
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