relinquish
Americanverb (used with object)
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relinquishes,
present (3rd person singular)
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relinquished,
past participle, past
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relinquishing
present participle
verb
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to give up (a task, struggle, etc); abandon
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to surrender or renounce (a claim, right, etc)
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to release; let go
Synonym Usage
See abandon.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonrelinquishmentnoun
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relinquishernoun
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relinquishmentnoun
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unrelinquishedadjective
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unrelinquishingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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relinquishsimple
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relinquishessimple
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have relinquishedperfect
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has relinquishedperfect
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am relinquishingprogressive
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are relinquishingprogressive
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is relinquishingprogressive
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have been relinquishingperfect progressive
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has been relinquishingperfect progressive
Past
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relinquishedsimple
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had relinquishedperfect
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was relinquishingprogressive
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were relinquishingprogressive
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had been relinquishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of relinquish
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 )
Explanation
If you relinquish something, you let it go. You relinquish control of the army when you resign as general. You relinquish your plan to sneak into town when your parents find out what's going on. Relinquish is also commonly used to mean physically letting go of something: The monkey wouldn't relinquish its grasp on the banana. Relinquish descends from Latin relinquere, from the prefix re-, "again" plus linquere, "to leave."
Vocabulary lists containing relinquish
The Declaration of Independence
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The Giver
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Instead of shedding tears or vowing revenge, we hear the protagonist in the song begging the mistress who holds the power to relinquish it.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
You have to relinquish your id and allow the thing to be the thing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Shehu and numerous land claimants have traded victories in various trials and appeals, none of which forced Shehu to relinquish the land.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
RWE said it has agreed to relinquish its leases off the California and Louisiana coasts as well as in the New York Bight.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Even today the artist remains a magician whose work can mystify and move us—an embarrassing fact to civilized people, who do not readily relinquish their veneer of rational control.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
If an individual voluntarily relinquishes all future Social Security retirement benefits, why shouldn’t they be allowed to assume that risk themselves?
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
The revised law offers greater guarantees to private players, relinquishes state control of exploration, and lowers taxes and royalties.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026
But it recognizes a stark reality: If Maduro relinquishes power, the oil pumped by Chevron—and one day, perhaps others—would play a big role in the country’s economic recovery, they say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 20, 2025
It doesn’t matter if I fight Jon, if he relinquishes the belt, if he waits it out for a bit and then we fight, whatever.
From BBC ● Nov. 16, 2024
She relinquishes my arm and lifts my chin.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
The site is currently taking in 20 to 30 horses a month, and the charity across the UK saying it has seen a "160% surge in relinquished horses in recent years".
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
The “Nashville” and “Ice Princess” star welcomed their daughter in 2014 but relinquished full custody to Klitschko in 2018.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
His thinking evolved during his career, but he never fully relinquished his Randian support of laissez-faire economies free from government intervention.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
A year later, when Root relinquished the captaincy, Stokes was there with what he called "love, respect and support".
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
The man took Thirty-six from Claire, who relinquished him reluctantly.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
He then insists that the FFE plan "did not involve relinquishing Fifa's control or authority over sporting decisions. Obviously!"
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Lilly Cassirer Neubauer escaped Germany at the dawn of World War II by relinquishing to a Nazi art broker the exquisite impressionist masterpiece “Rue Saint-Honoré in the Afternoon. Effect of Rain,” by Camille Pissarro.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Washington, meanwhile, famously made relinquishing power part of his own legacy.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Sony Group has spent billions of dollars on acquisitions in recent years to beef up its entertainment content while relinquishing control of businesses in other areas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Obviously he still could not avoid relinquishing his waiting duties in the dining room, but otherwise the trolley enabled him to accomplish a surprising amount.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
