relinquishing

verb

present participle of relinquish
1
as in surrendering
to give (something) over to the control or possession of another usually under duress the boy reluctantly relinquished the illegal fireworks to the police officer

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in abdicating
to give up (as a position of authority) formally the retiring CEO relinquished his position to the company's vice president with very mixed feelings

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 relinquishing Clearly, the Flyers are comfortable with relinquishing first-round picks in their next four drafts as there is more value in having a true 1C in Carlsson. — Kevin Kurz, New York Times, 8 July 2026 But for Iran, reopening the strait does not mean relinquishing control of it. — Xiaoqian Lin, CNN Money, 29 June 2026 Furthermore, leaders like George Washington achieved greatness not by hoarding power, but by relinquishing it. — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 24 June 2026 Loth promptly went out and took care of business, taking the lead early before briefly relinquishing it, then pulling away down the stretch. — Frank Rajkowski, Twin Cities, 6 June 2026 Consumers are intrigued by convenience, but at the same time clearly uneasy about relinquishing control. — Jacques Ledbetter, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026 Trump has said numerous times that any final resolution would have to involve Iran relinquishing its nuclear program, either by means of a diplomatic agreement or by force. — Chris Boccia, ABC News, 13 May 2026 And at the counter, where chef and guest are separated by little more than a stretch of the hand, everything rests on precision, presence and the quiet thrill of relinquishing control to the chef’s capable hands. — Rachel Ingram, Robb Report, 10 May 2026 The Monarchs went 8-1 in league play before relinquishing the district title. — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for relinquishing
  1. surrendering
  2. abdicating
  3. rendering
  4. resigning
  5. delivering
  6. renouncing
  7. ceding
Verb
  • England was knocked out of the World Cup in painful fashion on Wednesday, surrendering two goals in the final 15 minutes of its semifinal clash with Argentina.
    — Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 18 July 2026
  • Giving up citizenship means surrendering valuable rights that may benefit not only you but also future generations of your family.
    — Andy J. Semotiuk, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of surrendering
Verb
  • They’d be upset about Article One of the Constitution, the legislative branch abdicating its powers; that is, the people’s power to wage war and to levy tariffs.
    — KEN BURNS, Rolling Stone, 19 May 2026
  • Dinello was right, and The Late Show eventually became late night’s ratings leader—a throne that CBS is now voluntarily abdicating.
    — David Sims, The Atlantic, 15 May 2026
Definition of abdicating
Verb
  • Paramount has argued that the entry of streaming giants such as Netflix, Amazon and Apple into entertainment has altered the landscape, rendering such antitrust concerns obsolete.
    — David Folkenflik, NPR, 13 July 2026
  • Historically, the two use different formats and software and have different levels of detail depending on what type of machine is rendering them and whether the rendering is pre-baked or being done in real time.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 13 July 2026
Definition of rendering
Verb
  • Starmer, who became the punching bag of the anglophone world before resigning under intense pressure, can also credit much of his fall to the pension issue.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 11 July 2026
  • Harris first joined DeKalb police in 2014 before voluntarily resigning in 2020, Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council records show.
    — Caroline Silva, AJC.com, 9 July 2026
Definition of resigning
Verb
  • That Messi was one, and the one who decided it late, was demanded of the moment —Messi delivering as usual.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 16 July 2026
  • In fact, some scientists think that life on Earth could've been sparked by asteroids delivering the materials for life via such collisions during an era where our planet was heavily bombarded by such objects around four billion years ago.
    — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 15 July 2026
Definition of delivering
Verb
  • Mark Ford Rosemary Tonks emulated French Symbolist poets before converting to Christianity and renouncing all her own works.
    — The New York Review of Books, The New York Review of Books, 4 July 2026
  • Corbett, of Palatine, announced his independent candidacy days after renouncing the current state of the Republican Party and dropping his consulting business work with GOP contenders.
    — Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 3 June 2026
Definition of renouncing
Verb
  • These ideas—of ceding ground, of viewing another as infinite rather than as a means to address our own unfreedom—are of no use to the industries and technologies that treat the face as a display commodity before all else.
    — Jia Tolentino, New Yorker, 11 July 2026
  • However, there is some resistance in Australia at the prospect of ceding control to IPL franchises who have already accumulated clubs across England, South Africa, the West Indies, the UAE and in the United States via Major League Cricket.
    — Dominic Fifield, New York Times, 10 July 2026
Definition of ceding

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Cite this Entry

“Relinquishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relinquishing. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on relinquishing

Nglish: Translation of relinquishing for Spanish Speakers

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