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:
North Korea declared itself a nuclear power in 2022 and vowed never to relinquish its weapons, of which it is estimated to possess dozens.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Ford would relinquish his control of certain family entities, in exchange for payouts valued at about $185 million, according to the documents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
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
A printing press, and friends among the judges, who forced Ridgeway to relinquish his charges on no less than three occasions.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
He also said that the Board of Peace intends to take possession of Hamas’ weapons when it relinquishes them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
July 21: Israel relinquishes control of some towns in Lebanon to the country’s government after U.S.-brokered talks, though early snags include an alleged shooting by Israeli troops near Lebanese forces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
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
On Thursday, Venezuela's parliament adopted reforms that offer greater guarantees to private players, relinquishes state control of exploration, and lowers taxes.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
Locke relinquishes me to the youngest prince, as is expected out of deference.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
The pair married in a glitzy wedding in 2018 but two years later relinquished their role as working royals after a feud with the British royals and moved to North America.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
The Buss family’s grip on the NBA’s glamor franchise loosened in 2025 when they relinquished their majority share to Mark Walter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
U.S. natural gas futures relinquished intraday gains and settled fractionally lower despite a 32 Bcf weekly inventory build that landed at the low end of market estimates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Bhatia, the son-in-law of the Indian billionaire businessman Lakshmi Mittal, was director and co-owner at QPR for 18 seasons but stepped down from the board and relinquished ownership of the club on Tuesday afternoon.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The man took Thirty-six from Claire, who relinquished him reluctantly.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
A common misconception is that moving abroad requires relinquishing your U.S. citizenship and passport.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
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
McConnell, who became the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history before relinquishing that role last year, is now 84.
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026
The family behind Lodge has no interest in relinquishing ownership of the company, said Lodge Chairman Jay Daniel, a fifth-generation family member and founder of an IT company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 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
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