relinquish

Synonym Chooser

How is the word relinquish different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of relinquish are abandon, resign, surrender, waive, and yield. While all these words mean "to give up completely," relinquish usually does not imply strong feeling but may suggest some regret, reluctance, or weakness.

relinquished her crown

Where would abandon be a reasonable alternative to relinquish?

While the synonyms abandon and relinquish are close in meaning, abandon stresses finality and completeness in giving up.

abandoned all hope

In what contexts can resign take the place of relinquish?

The synonyms resign and relinquish are sometimes interchangeable, but resign emphasizes voluntary relinquishment or sacrifice without struggle.

resigned her position

When is surrender a more appropriate choice than relinquish?

In some situations, the words surrender and relinquish are roughly equivalent. However, surrender implies a giving up after a struggle to retain or resist.

surrendered their claims

When can waive be used instead of relinquish?

The words waive and relinquish can be used in similar contexts, but waive implies conceding or forgoing with little or no compulsion.

waived the right to a trial by jury

When could yield be used to replace relinquish?

Although the words yield and relinquish have much in common, yield implies concession or compliance or submission to force.

the troops yielded ground grudgingly

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 relinquish Speaking Thursday, Araghchi said Iran was open to enhanced monitoring by international inspectors but would not relinquish its right to pursue nuclear energy, including uranium enrichment. Frederik Pleitgen, CNN Money, 23 May 2025 For birth families, relinquishing a child was not only shameful but a badge of poverty. Barbara Demick, New Yorker, 23 May 2025 But nothing Akasha’s old friend said could persuade Akasha to relinquish his empire. Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 22 May 2025 Harvard University will relinquish 175-year-old photographs believed to be the earliest taken of enslaved people to a South Carolina museum devoted to African American history as part of a settlement with one of the subjects’ descendants. Leah Willingham, Christian Science Monitor, 28 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for relinquish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for relinquish
Verb
  • Pickard’s only goal surrendered was the one from Sam Reinhart that tied Game 4 with 19.5 seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime.
    David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 14 June 2025
  • Like any other member of the public, Ye was required to take off his belt, empty his pockets, and surrender his electronic devices before going through a metal detector.
    Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 13 June 2025
Verb
  • Queen Margrethe later abdicated on Jan. 14, 2024, making her elder son King Frederik X of Denmark.
    Janine Henni, People.com, 6 June 2025
  • Khalil is the bridge through which the film makes its arguments about the hypocrisy of élite liberal education, which feeds on ideals of free inquiry and free speech and abdicates its responsibility in freeing people.
    Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 17 May 2025
Verb
  • Script is by mega TV producer Taylor Sheridan, who was commissioned by Warner Bros prior to his current overall deal with Paramount, with the latter granting Taylor’s request to render services, within Paramount’s exclusive window.
    Matt Grobar, Deadline, 13 June 2025
  • It may be rendered ineffective before it can be brought to bear in combat.
    David A. Deptula, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025
Verb
  • His third Cabinet resigned in January 2021 following a parliamentary report that found that as many as 10,000 families were forced to repay thousands of euros after they had been wrongly accused of welfare fraud.
    Adam Rasmi, Time, 20 June 2025
  • Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 has hired an administrator experienced in curriculum to be its new assistant superintendent for student learning to replace Laurie Fiorenza who resigned, effective June 30, without explanation in April.
    Bob Skolnik, Chicago Tribune, 20 June 2025
Verb
  • Health care stakeholders across the spectrum would be well served to support the needs of small business for quality and affordability, and to enable innovative models that deliver better options going forward.
    Dan Mendelson, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
  • Some people think forceps by doctors delivering babies in the ‘50s caused brain damage in infants.
    Time, Time, 10 June 2025
Verb
  • Paul was severely ill, so he was excused from appearing, but Vladimir was taken away by the Bolsheviks after refusing to renounce his father.
    Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 June 2025
  • The Authority never kept its promises to renounce terrorism and accept Israel.
    Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 6 June 2025
Verb
  • In proposing the cuts, the administration has called for ceding certain federal parklands to the states.
    Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2025
  • Vladivostok was ceded to Tsarist Russia in 1860 under the Treaty of Peking, which established the border between China and Russia along the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, as indicated on Newsweek's maps in this article.
    Isabel van Brugen John Feng, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Relinquish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relinquish. Accessed 25 Jun. 2025.

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