resign

American  

[ri-zahyn] / rɪˈzaɪn /

verb (used without object)

• resigns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• resigned,
  past participle,  past
• resigning
  present participle

1. to give up an office or position, often formally (often followed byfrom ).

   to resign from the presidency.

   Synonyms:

   withdraw

2. to submit; yield.

   to resign before the inevitable.

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verb (used with object)

• resigns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• resigned,
  past participle,  past
• resigning
  present participle

1. to give up (an office, position, etc.), often formally.

   Synonyms:

   leave, quit, renounce, abdicate

2. to relinquish (a right, claim, agreement, etc.).

   Synonyms:

   cede, surrender, give up, forgo

3. to give or sign over, as to the control or care of another.

   She resigned her child to an adoption agency.

4. to submit (oneself, one's mind, etc.) without resistance.

resign British  

/ rɪˈzaɪn /

verb

1. to give up tenure of (a job, office, etc)

2. (tr) to reconcile (oneself) to; yield

   to resign oneself to death

3. (tr) to give up (a right, claim, etc); relinquish

   he resigned his claim to the throne

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Usage

What does resign mean? Resign most commonly means to give up one’s job or position. When used this way, resign can be used without an object, as in He resigned yesterday, or with one, as in She is expected to resign her position. In its general sense, resign means to yield or submit, as in When he knew he couldn’t possibly win the match, he decided to resign. Example: They say he resigned on his own, but I think he was forced out.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• resigner
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• resigning
  present
• resigned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• resign
  simple
• resigns
  simple
• have resigned
  perfect
• has resigned
  perfect
• am resigning
  progressive
• are resigning
  progressive
• is resigning
  progressive
• have been resigning
  perfect progressive
• has been resigning
  perfect progressive

Past

• resigned
  simple
• had resigned
  perfect
• was resigning
  progressive
• were resigning
  progressive
• had been resigning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will resign
  simple
• will have resigned
  perfect
• will be resigning
  progressive
• will have been resigning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of resign

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English resignen, from Middle French resigner, from Latin resignāre “to open, release, cancel,” literally, “to seal back,” from re- re- + signāre “to mark, seal” ( see sign)

Explanation

To resign is to quit or retire from a position. You can also resign yourself to something inevitable, like death — meaning you just accept that it's going to happen. When people resign, they're leaving something, like a job or political office. Congressmen resign after a scandal. Coaches resign after a really terrible season. Regular folks simply resign when they're ready to go. In those cases, resign is a nicer way of saying quit. Being resigned is another sense of this word — it's a type of acceptance. If your team is losing 80-20, you might as well resign yourself to losing. That just means you aren't in denial.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

resign resigns resigned resigning

In early September, the British researcher published a statement on X explaining his decision to resign from Anthropic, saying AI developers sincerely believed the technology could "kill us all by the end of the decade."

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

The answer to this inquiry would be because leaders of his own party informed Nixon that he would be removed from office if he didn’t resign.

From Slate ● Oct. 3, 2026

In 1969, Sheen made the difficult decision to resign when he felt that the diocese no longer had confidence in his mission there.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

She was forced to resign but never faced criminal charges.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

But no one made a move to resign.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

Plus, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigns after months of tension with Pete Hegseth, and a look at why Seattle and D.C. are drawing more families with kids.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

India's "Cockroach" party movement vowed Tuesday to press ahead with their campaign until the education minister resigns, a day after at least 180 people were injured in protests in New Delhi.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

If the sitting governor dies, resigns or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor would assume the role.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

By the time someone resigns, the real conversation is already six months overdue.

From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026

She decides one last case before she resigns as a judge for the People’s Court.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

Accused of “moral failure” by the fellowship, Bakker resigned and Falwell replaced him as president of PTL.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Fields said she was reassigned after taking her concerns beyond her direct chain of command, and ultimately resigned.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

The BBC's then-director general Tim Davie also resigned over the scandal, and was replaced by Brittin earlier this year.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Rachel Jupp has been appointed the new director of BBC News, nearly a year after the previous CEO resigned.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Many resigned out of disgust and moved to foreign countries.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Good's death also prompted turmoil inside the Justice Department after federal prosecutors in Minneapolis were prevented from investigating the agents involved, with several resigning in protest.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

Gay was president for six months, the shortest stretch in the institution’s history, before resigning at the start of 2024.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

But the Fair Games Coalition claims she responded to their requests to meet and discuss their concerns by resigning.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

The chief executive of NHS Tayside has personally apologised for the destruction of theatre logbooks, potentially related to disgraced surgeon Sam Eljamel, but said she had no intention of resigning.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

I remained silent, resigning myself to the worst.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane