Synonyms of relenting

relenting 1 of 2

adjective

1

as in complying

Related Words

• complying
• yielding
• pliant
• compliant
• acquiescent
• obedient
• amenable
• submissive
• pliable
• docile
• receptive
• agreeable
• tractable
• accepting
• placable
• willing
• flexible
• responsive
• manageable
• persuadable
• reasonable
• slavish
• temperate
• subservient
• governable

Dissimilar Words

• unrelenting
• adamant
• obstinate
• stubborn
• unyielding
• implacable
• obdurate
• unbending
• intransigent
• hard
• uncompromising
• willful
• inflexible
• dogged
• hardened
• pat
• mulish
• perverse
• immovable
• pertinacious
• adamantine
• bullheaded
• headstrong
• hardheaded
• ossified
• opinionated
• obsessive
• pigheaded
• hard-nosed
• stiff-necked
• self-willed
• inconvincible
• self-opinionated
• wayward
• wrongheaded
• anal-retentive

2

as in merciful

Related Words

• merciful
• forgiving
• loving
• benevolent
• charitable
• benign
• kind
• sympathetic
• kindly
• warm
• brotherly
• compassionate
• benignant
• altruistic
• humanitarian
• humane
• philanthropic
• kindhearted
• magnanimous
• sweet
• warmhearted
• good
• tender
• good-hearted
• noble
• tenderhearted
• high-minded

Dissimilar Words

• vindictive
• vengeful
• retaliatory
• revengeful
• resentful
• unforgiving
• avenging
• uncharitable

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

• succumbing
• conceding
• submitting
• surrendering
• bowing
• capitulating
• yielding
• budging
• quitting
• blinking
• giving in
• acquiescing
• throwing in the towel
• knuckling under
• deferring
• saying uncle

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• resisting
• fighting
• contending
• opposing
• facing
• confronting
• objecting
• defying
• combating
• meeting
• countering
• battling
• withstanding
• repelling
• thwarting
• holding off
• breasting

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

• decreasing
• subsiding
• diminishing
• easing
• declining
• falling
• shrinking
• vanishing
• ebbing
• waning
• tapering
• lessening
• moderating
• abating
• receding
• lowering
• weakening
• dwindling
• dying (away or down or out)
• dropping (off)
• remitting
• draining (away)
• falling away
• ratcheting (down)
• tapering off
• evaporating
• palling
• racheting (down)
• letting up
• phasing down
• de-escalating
• compressing
• constricting
• collapsing
• contracting
• slackening
• alleviating
• condensing
• melting (away)
• slowing (down)
• fading (away)
• tailing (off)
• frittering (away)
• giving out
• relaxing
• petering (out)
• flagging
• sinking
• deflating
• caving (in)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• increasing
• growing
• rising
• intensifying
• building
• expanding
• swelling
• mounting
• escalating
• accumulating
• enlarging
• soaring
• burgeoning
• appearing
• emerging
• picking up
• waxing
• mushrooming
• snowballing
• showing up
• ballooning
• lengthening
• blowing up
• distending
• elongating

Example Sentences

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

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

Iran shows no signs of relenting. — Michael Loria, USA Today, 15 Mar. 2026

The settlement, which must still be approved by a bankruptcy court, comes after the diocese had fought a state a grand jury investigation for years before relenting last year. — ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026