tr.v., -quished, -quish·ing, -quish·es.
- To retire from; give up or abandon.
- To put aside or desist from (something practiced, professed, or intended).
- To let go; surrender.
- To cease holding physically; release: relinquish a grip.
[Middle English relinquisshen, from Old French relinquir, relinquiss-, from Latin relinquere : re-, re- + linquere, to leave.]
relinquisher re·lin'quish·er n.relinquishment re·lin'quish·ment n.
SYNONYMS relinquish, yield, resign, abandon, surrender, cede, waive, renounce. These verbs mean letting something go or giving something up. Relinquish, the least specific, may connote regret: can't relinquish the idea. Yield implies giving way, as to pressure, often in the hope that such action will be temporary: had to yield ground. Resign suggests formal relinquishing (resigned their claim to my land) or acquiescence arising from hopelessness (resigned himself to forgoing his vacation). Abandon and surrender both imply no expectation of recovering what is given up; surrender also implies the operation of compulsion or force: abandoned all hope for a resolution; surrendered control of the company. Cede connotes formal transfer, as of territory: ceded the province to the victorious nation. Waive implies a voluntary decision to dispense with something, such as a right: waived all privileges. To renounce is to relinquish formally and usually as a matter of principle: renounced worldly goods.
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