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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for relenting
  1. yielding
  2. merciful
  3. succumbing
  4. decreasing
  5. pliant
  6. forgiving
  7. conceding
  8. subsiding
Adjective
  • After soaking in the salad for a while, the raisins plumped and swelled, adding a yielding explosivity.
    — Cooking Editor, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
  • An unexpectedly hawkish Fed meeting chaired by Kevin Warsh last week boosted expectations for a year-end interest rate ⁠hike, further pressuring gold prices, as the prospect of higher interest rates tend to weigh ‌on the non-yielding precious metal.
    — Joseph Wilkins, CNBC, 23 June 2026
Definition of yielding
Adjective
  • Just when a dreadful day was approaching a merciful end, the chants from the remaining crowd at Citi Field poked fun at the New York Mets’ mess in a way boos cannot match with ridicule.
    — Will Sammon, New York Times, 25 June 2026
  • That painful night in Dallas now feels merciful, compared with what this Avs team just experienced.
    — Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 27 May 2026
Definition of merciful
Verb
  • Petey Halpin almost tagged Jackson for a two-out homer, the ball instead succumbing to gravity near the warning track.
    — Zack Meisel, New York Times, 21 July 2026
  • The nightmare grows more and more fierce as guests venture through the haunted house, encountering ferocious Deadites around every turn before succumbing to the evil forces themselves.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 21 July 2026
Definition of succumbing
Verb
  • The lack of regulations for unsupervised AI and decreasing hardware costs amplify this uncontained proliferation risk.
    — Craig S. Smith, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • In many countries, alcohol consumption has already been decreasing for years, especially among young people.
    — Tim Brinkhof, Time, 23 July 2026
Definition of decreasing
Adjective
  • In many ways, Trump is at the height of his power, surrounded by pliant leaders and able to count on a cohesive group of followers.
    — Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 10 June 2026
  • The unions want their pliant board majority in place through 2032.
    — U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 May 2026
Definition of pliant
Adjective
  • The Leftovers Where Storage Technique Matters Most Some leftovers are more forgiving than others.
    — Anne Wolf, Martha Stewart, 12 July 2026
  • In just over half those states, the more forgiving deadlines apply only to ballots cast by military and overseas voters.
    — Mark Sherman, Chicago Tribune, 29 June 2026
Definition of forgiving
Verb
  • Spanish captain Rodri was crowned the Golden Ball winner as best player, while goalkeeper Unai Simón won the Golden Glove after conceding just one goal during Spain’s eight games.
    — Peter Weber, TheWeek, 20 July 2026
  • Their defence has been just as imperious in reality, conceding only once across seven matches, against Belgium in the quarter-finals.
    — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 20 July 2026
Definition of conceding
Verb
  • India, one of the world's most prolific IPO markets, was gearing up for issues worth $50 billion as tension in the Middle East were subsiding.
    — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 9 July 2026
  • The afternoon started tough until the wind kept subsiding, and players began taking aim at flags.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 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 25 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on relenting

Nglish: Translation of relenting for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All