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relenting 1 of 2

adjective

1
as in complying

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words
2
as in merciful

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

relenting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of relent
1
as in succumbing
to cease resistance (as to another's arguments, demands, or control) the supervisor finally relented in the face of the petition, and allowed employees to take longer lunch breaks

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decreasing
to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually the fury of the storm relented, and the next day the sun finally broke through the clouds

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of relenting
Adjective
Gaviota’s non-relenting expansion amid a severe economic crisis significantly contributed to the country’s current humanitarian emergency. — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 23 Dec. 2025
Verb
Yields don't show any signs of relenting, especially as the ongoing war in the Middle East raises worry about whether energy prices will stay elevated. — Fred Imbert, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2026 Located in Malheur and Owyhee counties near Jordan Valley, the wildfire has blanketed the Boise area in smoke, with no signs of that relenting as the wind flow continues from the southwest. — Sally Krutzig, Idaho Statesman, 29 July 2026 Russia's leader, however, has exhibited little sign of relenting. — Aidan Stretch, CBS News, 29 June 2026 Speedy Jonah Cox replaced Devers, who tried to shoo him away before relenting and storming through the dugout. — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 21 June 2026 But Tehran offered no sign of relenting on its enrichment program, and by Wednesday afternoon, had warned that tanker traffic would halt through the strait until Israel paused its attacks in Lebanon. — Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026 Ayatollah Khomeini initially banned the game, relenting shortly before his death, and today Iran has a few grandmasters playing the game their country brought to the world. — Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2026 But Iranian officials showed no sign of relenting, warning the country could strike electricity targets across the Persian Gulf and even hit plants that supply the region with drinking water. — Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 23 Mar. 2026 On March 18, temperatures in Phoenix reached 102 degrees, the city’s earliest 100-degree day on record — and the heat shows no signs of relenting. — Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 21 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for relenting
  1. yielding
  2. merciful
  3. succumbing
  4. decreasing
  5. pliant
  6. forgiving
  7. conceding
  8. subsiding
Adjective
  • These resources can be used to breed new varieties of crops that are higher yielding, more resilient to climate change, and more nutritious.
    — Anna Nelson, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Lead—dense but yielding, silvery but ashen, handy but deadly—was long used for this purpose.
    — Kyle Devine, Longreads, 14 July 2026
Definition of yielding
Adjective
  • Soon, an Angels’ season filled with firings, turmoil and loss after loss after loss will come to its merciful conclusion.
    — Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • God did not punish him intensely, but only from time to time and in a merciful way.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of merciful
Verb
  • He was carried out of the ring on a stretcher; his body finally succumbing to complete exhaustion.
    — Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Tickets are priced at tiers that smell extortionate, and are won by either facing off with bots or succumbing to the—actually extortionate—resale market.
    — Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of succumbing
Verb
  • Little brown bats can similarly reduce their metabolic demands by going Dracula for months at a time, decreasing their body temperatures by more than fifty degrees Fahrenheit and slowing their respiration to a handful of breaths an hour.
    — Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The steadiest and most widespread coverage of any rain should be early in the day with the coverage decreasing during the afternoon and evening.
    — Rachael Jay, CBS News, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of decreasing
Adjective
  • The world went in, and pliant, playful interpretations flowed out.
    — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Fernández’s theory is that Mark must have told the women the code to his safe in his pliant stupor.
    — Mattha Busby, Rolling Stone, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of pliant
Adjective
  • Western chefs’ knives tend to be sturdy, heavy, and made with slightly softer and more forgiving steel; Japanese chef’s knives (known as a gyuto), on the other hand, are designed to be sharp, nimble, and excellent slicers.
    — Jesse Raub, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Its cotton material has been garment-dyed for extra softness and blended with a touch of elastane for a more forgiving fit.
    — Eric Twardzik, Robb Report, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of forgiving
Verb
  • By now, even Kimi Antonelli's closest rival is conceding that the race for the Formula 1 title is pretty much over.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The film featured 24 Israeli officers and soldiers effectively confessing to war crimes with one even conceding that what was being done to the Palestinians was a genocide.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of conceding
Verb
  • Multiple Kelvin waves These waves can bring elevated sea levels for weeks at a time, eventually subsiding before the next wave hits.
    — Zoe Mintz, CBS News, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Two of them coincide with areas where satellite radar shows that the ground is actively subsiding.
    — Nolan Roth, Scientific American, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of subsiding

Browse Nearby Words

relented
relenting
relentless
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Relenting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relenting. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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