relinquish

[ri-ling-kwish]

verb (used with object)

1. to renounce or surrender (a possession, right, etc.).

   to relinquish the throne.

2. to give up; put aside or desist from.

   to relinquish a plan.

   Synonyms: resign, desert, forswear, quit, leave, abdicate, forego, waive, cede, yield

3. to let go; release.

   to relinquish one's hold.

relinquish

/ rɪˈlɪŋkwɪʃ /

verb

1. to give up (a task, struggle, etc); abandon

2. to surrender or renounce (a claim, right, etc)

3. to release; let go

Other Word Forms

• relinquisher noun
• relinquishment noun
• nonrelinquishment noun
• unrelinquished adjective
• unrelinquishing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of relinquish¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English relinquissen, relinquisshen, from Middle French relinquiss-, long stem of relinquir ≪ Latin relinquere “to leave behind,” equivalent to re- re- + linquere “to leave” (akin to lend )

Word History and Origins

Origin of relinquish¹

C15: from French relinquir , from Latin relinquere to leave behind, from _re- + linquere to leave

Synonym Study

See abandon.

Example Sentences

By leaving our bubbles, we widen our perspectives and, for at least a moment, relinquish what David Foster Wallace once called our “natural, hard-wired default-setting . . . to see and interpret everything through this lens of self.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

And they will not relinquish that power voluntarily.

Read more on Salon

Earlier in October, Andrew issued a personal statement saying he would be relinquishing all of his royal titles, including the Duke of York.

Read more on BBC

But as the 70-year-old reflects on the role he recently relinquished, he thinks he was fixing professional golf—not breaking it.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"They don't like it when the belts, in their eyes, just get handed about if people relinquish them," Wardley said.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• abandon 
• abdicate 
• cede 
• drop out 
• forgo 
• hand over 
• quit 
• renounce 
• surrender 
• vacate 
• waive 
• withdraw 
• yield