Adjacent Words

Relinquish definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RELIN'QUISH, v.t. [L. relinquo, re and linquo, to leave, to fail or faint; from the same root as liqueo, liquo, to melt or dissolve, deliquium, a fainting. Hence the sense is to withdraw or give way; to relinquish is to recede from.]
1. To withdraw from; to leave; to quit. It may be to forsake or abandon, but it does not necessarily express the sense of the latter. A man may relinquish an enterprise for a time, or with a design never to resume it. In general, to relinquish is to leave without the intention of resuming, and equivalent to forsake, but is less emphatical than abandon and desert.
They placed Irish tenants on the lands relinquished by the English.
2. To forbear; to withdraw from; as, to relinquish the practice of intemperance; to relinquish the rites of a church.
3. To give up; to renounce a claim to; as, to relinquish a debt.
To relinquish back, or to, to give up; to release; to surrender; as, to relinquish a claim to another.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: part with a possession or right; "I am relinquishing my bedroom to the long-term house guest"; "resign a claim to the throne" [syn: release, relinquish, resign, free, give up]
2: do without or cease to hold or adhere to; "We are dispensing with formalities"; "relinquish the old ideas" [syn: waive, relinquish, forgo, forego, foreswear, dispense with]
3: turn away from; give up; "I am foreswearing women forever" [syn: foreswear, renounce, quit, relinquish]
4: release, as from one's grip; "Let go of the door handle, please!"; "relinquish your grip on the rope--you won't fall" [syn: let go of, let go, release, relinquish] [ant: hold, take hold]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Etymology: Middle English relinquisshen, from Anglo-French relinquiss-, stem of relinquir, from Latin relinquere to leave behind, from re- + linquere to leave — more at loan Date: 15th century 1. to withdraw or retreat from ; leave behind 2. give up <relinquish a title> 3. a. to stop holding physically ; release <slowly relinquished his grip on the bar> b. to give over possession or control of ; yield <few leaders willingly relinquish power> • relinquishment noun Synonyms: relinquish, yield, resign, surrender, abandon, waive mean to give up completely. relinquish usually does not imply strong feeling but may suggest some regret, reluctance, or weakness <relinquished her crown>. yield implies concession or compliance or submission to force <the troops yielded ground grudgingly>. resign emphasizes voluntary relinquishment or sacrifice without struggle <resigned her position>. surrender implies a giving up after a struggle to retain or resist <surrendered their claims>. abandon stresses finality and completeness in giving up <abandoned all hope>. waive implies conceding or forgoing with little or no compulsion <waived the right to a trial by jury>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 surrender or resign (a right or possession). 2 give up or cease from (a habit, plan, belief, etc.). 3 relax hold of (an object held). Derivatives: relinquishment n. Etymology: ME f. OF relinquir f. L relinquere (as RE-, linquere leave)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Relinquish Re*lin"quish (-kw?sh), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Relinquished (-kw?sht); p. pr. & vb. n. Relinquishing.] [OF. relinquir, L. relinquere to leave behind; pref. re- re + linquere to leave. See Loan, and cf. Relic, Relict.] 1. To withdraw from; to leave behind; to desist from; to abandon; to quit; as, to relinquish a pursuit. We ought to relinquish such rites. --Hooker. They placed Irish tenants upon the lands relinquished by the English. --Sir J. Davies. 2. To give up; to renounce a claim to; resign; as, to relinquish a debt. Syn: To resign; leave; quit; forsake; abandon; desert; renounce; forb?ar; forego. See Resign.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(relinquishes, relinquishing, relinquished) If you relinquish something such as power or control, you give it up. (FORMAL) He does not intend to relinquish power. VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Leave, quit, forsake, desert, renounce, forswear, abandon, cast off, give over, withdraw from. 2. Surrender, cede, yield, resign, renounce, forbear, abdicate, forego, deliver up, give up, part with; lay down, lay aside, waive. 3. Resign, renounce a claim to.

Moby Thesaurus

abandon, abdicate, abjure, abnegate, abort, acknowledge defeat, be pensioned, be superannuated, beg a truce, belay, cancel, capitulate, cast, cease, cede, come off, come to terms, cry pax, cry quits, cut it out, cut out, demit, desert, desist, desist from, discard, discontinue, disgorge, dispense with, dispose of, disuse, do without, drop, drop it, dump, end, forbear, forgo, forsake, forswear, free, get along without, get rid of, give away, give over, give up, halt, hand over, have done with, hold, implore mercy, kiss good-bye, knock it off, lay aside, lay down, lay off, leave, leave off, let go, loose, make a sacrifice, nol-pros, not pursue with, part with, pension off, pray for quarter, put behind one, quit, quitclaim, recant, refrain, release, render up, renounce, renounce the throne, resign, retire, retire from office, retract, sacrifice, say uncle, scrub, shed, spare, stand aside, stand down, stay, step aside, stop, superannuate, surrender, swear off, terminate, throw up, turn up, unloose, vacate, waive, withdraw from, yield, yield the palm