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 For Harrison, the collaboration also meant relinquishing some control. — Spin Staff, SPIN, 22 July 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for relinquishing
  1. surrendering
  2. abdicating
  3. rendering
  4. resigning
  5. delivering
  6. renouncing
  7. ceding
Verb
  • San Jose had just earned its first win at Portland since 2011, extending its best start in club history, while Orlando came in after surrendering six goals in its previous league match.
    — Harold Gutmann, Mercury News, 23 July 2026
  • The agency extends its reach without surrendering control — the condition on which any serious government adoption depends.
    — Derek Williams, Forbes.com, 23 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
  • Simultaneously rendering the past less remote while relishing its radical foreignness, Beard presses readers to grapple with alien ideas, reckon with gaps in their knowledge, and confront complexity.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 20 July 2026
  • New state-level AI laws face significant enforcement challenges, rendering many ineffective.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of rendering
Verb
  • The Labour government has seen a decrease in popularity among the British public, cemented by huge losses at the local polls in May—the fallout of which ultimately led to Starmer resigning as Prime Minister.
    — Callum Sutherland, Time, 17 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of resigning
Verb
  • Here’s what’s at stake Britain’s new finance minister faces a delicate balancing act between delivering Burnham’s potentially more left-leaning agenda and calming financial markets.
    — Ian King, CNBC, 22 July 2026
  • The goal is not adding more complexity to partner management, but removing unnecessary obstacles that distract from delivering customer value.
    — Curtis Brinkerhoff, Forbes.com, 22 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
  • Nola has surrendered 23 home runs in 20 starts, coughing up multiple homers in five of his last seven turns, and ceding one in one of the outlier contests.
    — Josh Shepardson, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • Democrats, on the other hand, have lacked the leadership and political power to deliver solutions, effectively ceding the issue to their political rivals.
    — Ken Salazar, Time, 20 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 27 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on relinquishing

Nglish: Translation of relinquishing for Spanish Speakers

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