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 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
By ceding possession in their own half and inviting the opposition into their own third, City are manufacturing space for Haaland to run into in a way that is not possible when dominating territory.
—Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025
Ukrainians overwhelmingly reject ceding territory.
—Oleksandra Matviichuk, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Peace cannot be achieved by ceding sovereignty.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 16 Sep. 2025
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
By ceding possession in their own half and inviting the opposition into their own third, City are manufacturing space for Haaland to run into in a way that is not possible when dominating territory.
—Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025
Ukrainians overwhelmingly reject ceding territory.
—Oleksandra Matviichuk, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Peace cannot be achieved by ceding sovereignty.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ceding
Verb
-
The United States Military Academy graduate won just months after the previous winner, Noelia Voigt, shocked the world by relinquishing her crown, a bombshell action that was also taken by her younger counterpart, Miss Teen USA 2023.—
Alma Cooper,
PEOPLE,
24 Oct. 2025
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In Madagascar, Rajoelina has shown no signs of relinquishing power following his removal.—
Nimi Princewill,
CNN Money,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Williams, an undersized combo forward who carves out space at will and debated turning pro after a first-team All-Big-12 campaign last year, will be the fulcrum of everything after transferring from Texas Tech.—
Sam Vecenie,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
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They've been charged with receiving, transferring and attempting to receive and transfer firearms knowing and having reasonable cause to believe that they would be used to commit terrorism.—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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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
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In June, the King spoke about the possibility of abdicating to make way for his daughter.—
Stephanie Petit,
PEOPLE,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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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
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But while station owners no doubt had some worries about surrendering audience to streaming, Goldman says DWTS’s gains are proof that the two ecosystems can complement each other.—
Josef Adalian,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The clip shows Detwiler assigning cooking chores to the G1 humanoid in the first few seconds.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Presented in Milan earlier this month, CCI assessed 20 fashion companies showing at Milan Fashion Week last month, drawing data from 11 platforms in 50 countries and assigning a score between 0 and 100 according to the three pillars of brand popularity, brand involvement and purchase intent.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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That torpedoing of club finances, alongside Messi handing in a transfer request in August 2020, ended with club president Josep Maria Bartomeu resigning before he was pushed in October that year.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
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Lystrup ended up resigning as GSFC director on July 22.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Quietly, evil collapsed, while Maloyan’s virtue stood firm against brutal force, rendering that force powerless.—
Jenni Fink,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
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Other federal programs like the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement are also in limbo, rendering food banks unable to order supplies from the federal government.—
Heather Bushman,
IndyStar,
31 Oct. 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 5 Nov. 2025.
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