relinquish
Americanverb
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to give up (a task, struggle, etc); abandon
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to surrender or renounce (a claim, right, etc)
-
to release; let go
Related Words
See abandon.
Other Word Forms
- nonrelinquishment noun
- relinquisher noun
- relinquishment noun
- unrelinquished adjective
- unrelinquishing adjective
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.
They are set to relinquish their six-year hold on the WSL trophy and will not compete in the last four of the Champions League.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
Apple’s Tim Cook will relinquish the CEO position, leaving behind an impressive legacy after growing the company to a $4 trillion market capitalization from under $350 billion 15 years ago.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 20, 2026
He said he was actually complying with the act by refusing to relinquish presidential records.
From Salon • Apr. 17, 2026
The White House says Iran has signaled its intention to relinquish its uranium, although Iran hasn’t said that publicly.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
The witch tilted her head back, resting it against his shoulder as he drove forward, inch by miserable inch, each wave pulling them back, as if the sea was unwilling to relinquish its hold.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
