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
Team-mate Ernest Muci agreed to relinquish the jersey as a gesture of respect for the club's marquee signing.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
The other four, including the mayor, were voted out in an April recall but refused to relinquish control of City Hall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Still, he plans to relinquish his chief executive role after 25 years and a half century at Comcast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
But she was not about to relinquish the spot.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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
An Italian job looks the most likely alternative if Luke Donald relinquishes the European Ryder Cup leadership with Francesco and Edoardo Molinari providing a compelling captaincy combo.
From BBC ● Jan. 6, 2026
He never relinquishes his dignity, and Mr. Barbor-Might protects it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 25, 2025
Locke relinquishes me to the youngest prince, as is expected out of deference.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Ratan Tata relinquished his role as chairman of Tata Sons years earlier, but retained his position as head of the trusts until his death.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 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
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
New York relinquished a bucket of first-round draft picks to land Bridges, who, like Josh Hart, is a former Villanova teammate of Brunson’s, and the ROI had been meh.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
War Relic displayed cherubic behavior, grabbed the lead out of the gate, and never relinquished it, winning with consummate ease.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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
Root has sparkled since relinquishing the captaincy, averaging over 54 since June 2022 compared to an average of 46.44 in the five years prior and scoring 16 of his 41 Test centuries.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Ukrainian Ambassador to Warsaw Vasyl Bodnar said on Saturday he was relinquishing his Knight's Cross of the Polish Order of Merit, describing Nawrocki's move as a "gesture directed at the entire Ukrainian people".
From Barron's ● Jun. 20, 2026
She hugs the violin to her chest before relinquishing it.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
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.
