resignation
Americannoun
-
the act of resigning.
- Synonyms:
- abdication
-
a formal statement, document, etc., stating that one gives up an office, position, etc.
- Synonyms:
- abdication
-
an accepting, unresisting attitude, state, etc.; submission; acquiescence.
to meet one's fate with resignation.
- Synonyms:
- forbearance, compliance, patience
- Antonyms:
- recalcitrance
noun
-
the act of resigning
-
a formal document stating one's intention to resign
-
a submissive unresisting attitude; passive acquiescence
Usage
What does resignation mean? Resignation is the act of resigning—quitting one’s job or giving up one’s position. In this context, it can also refer to the formal statement or document that announces a person’s intention to resign. This sense of the word is often used with the verb tender, meaning to formally offer or present, as in I’ve tendered my resignation, effective immediately. It can also be used as a modifier, as in resignation letter. Resignation can also mean an accepting, unresisting attitude or state of submission, as in There is a sense of resignation in the room now that most of the votes are in and there doesn’t appear to be any path to victory. Example: Several senior officials have tendered their resignations, but it’s unclear whether they will be accepted.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of resignation
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin resignātiōn-, stem of resignātiō “cancellation, rescinding,” from Latin resignāt(us) “canceled” (past participle of resignāre “to open, release, cancel”; see resign) + -iō -ion
Explanation
Resignation can mean either stepping down from a job or accepting an unpleasant but inevitable situation. You could even feel resignation as you announce your resignation. Once you've announced or handed in your formal resignation to a job, organization, or political office, you're finished. You've formally quit or stepped down. If you've left the position due to budget cuts, you'll probably leave with a feeling of resignation — acknowledging that there's absolutely nothing you can do about it.
Vocabulary lists containing resignation
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
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A Raisin in the Sun
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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:
Complaints over Merz's high-handed leadership style have boiled over after the personnel changes prompted by the resignation of the CDU's parliamentary leader Jens Spahn.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Tens of thousands of protesters, mainly students, rallied last week in New Delhi and other cities, demanding Pradhan's resignation and broader reforms of the examination system.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Pradhan's resignation, says the 26-year-old, "is not the end, but just the beginning".
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi announced the resignation at a press conference in Jakarta on Monday, which wasn’t attended by Warjiyo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
He just sat there, and the children were caught in the center of his awe and defeat and resignation and acceptance.
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
While prime ministerial resignations are often intense affairs, there is actually a lot of waiting around as the world’s press gathers in Downing Street.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Those resignations came one week before the Makerfield by-election victory that propelled Burnham back to Westminster and then into No 10.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Sources said the proposed plan calls for increasing academy class sizes before and after the Olympics and Paralympics in order to offset resignations and retirements.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
But in another sense it was the culmination of a slow, torturous process of resignations, abandonments and ever-worsening news, capped by the return to Parliament of former Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, Starmer’s principal intra-party rival.
From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026
Many women tendered their resignations during their pregnancies and reapplied to the laboratory when they were ready to work again, hoping they would find a way to wrangle back their old jobs.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
