Adjacent Words

Resign definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RESIGN, v.t. rezi'ne. [L. resigno; re and signo, to sign. The radical sense of sign is to send, to drive, hence to set. To resign is to send, to drive, hence to set. To resign is to send back or send away.]
1. To give up; to give back, as an office or commission, to the person or authority that conferred it; hence, to surrender an office or charge in a formal manner; as, a military officer resigns his commission; a prince resigns his crown.
Phoebus resigns his darts, and Jove his thunder, to the god of love.
2. To withdraw, as a claim. He resigns all pretensions to skill.
3. To yield; as, to resign the judgment to the direction of others.
4. To yield or give up in confidence.
What more reasonable, than that we should in all things resign ourselves to the will of God?
5. To submit, particularly to Providence.
A firm, yet cautious mind; sincere, though prudent; constant, yet resign'd.
6. To submit without resistance or murmur.
RE'SIGN, v.t. To sign again.
RESIGN, n. Resignation. Obs.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: leave (a job, post, or position) voluntarily; "She vacated the position when she got pregnant"; "The chairman resigned when he was found to have misappropriated funds" [syn: vacate, resign, renounce, give up]
2: give up or retire from a position; "The Secretary of the Navy will leave office next month"; "The chairman resigned over the financial scandal" [syn: leave office, quit, step down, resign] [ant: take office]
3: 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]
4: accept as inevitable; "He resigned himself to his fate" [syn: resign, reconcile, submit]

Merriam Webster's

verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French resigner, from Latin resignare, literally, to unseal, cancel, from re- + signare to sign, seal — more at sign Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. relegate, consign; especially to give (oneself) over without resistance <resigned herself to her fate> 2. to give up deliberately; especially to renounce (as a right or position) by a formal act intransitive verb 1. to give up one's office or position ; quit 2. to accept something as inevitable ; submit Synonyms: see relinquish, abdicate • resignedly adverb • resignedness noun • resigner noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 intr. a (often foll. by from) give up office, one's employment, etc. (resigned from the Home Office). b (often foll. by as) retire (resigned as chief executive). 2 tr. (often foll. by to, into) relinquish; surrender; hand over (a right, charge, task, etc.). 3 tr. give up (hope etc.). 4 refl. (usu. foll. by to) a reconcile (oneself, one's mind, etc.) to the inevitable (have resigned myself to the idea). b surrender (oneself to another's guidance). 5 intr. Chess etc. discontinue play and admit defeat. Derivatives: resigner n. Etymology: ME f. OF resigner f. L resignare unseal, cancel (as RE-, signare sign, seal)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Resign Re*sign" (r?-z?n"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Resigned (-z?nd"); p. pr. & vb. n. Resigning.] [F. r['e]signer, L. resignare to unseal, annul, assign, resign; pref. re- re- + signare to seal, stamp. See Sign, and cf. Resignation.] 1. To sign back; to return by a formal act; to yield to another; to surrender; -- said especially of office or emolument. Hence, to give up; to yield; to submit; -- said of the wishes or will, or of something valued; -- also often used reflexively. I here resign my government to thee. --Shak. Lament not, Eve, but patiently resign What justly thou hast lost. --Milton. What more reasonable, than that we should in all things resign up ourselves to the will of God? --Tiilotson. 2. To relinquish; to abandon. He soon resigned his former suit. --Spenser. 3. To commit to the care of; to consign. [Obs.] Gentlement of quality have been sent beyong the seas, resigned and concredited to the conduct of such as they call governors. --Evelyn. Syn: To abdicate; surrender; submit; leave; relinquish; forego; quit; forsake; abandon; renounce. Usage: Resign, Relinquish. To resign is to give up, as if breaking a seal and yielding all it had secured; hence, it marks a formal and deliberate surrender. To relinquish is less formal, but always implies abandonment and that the thing given up has been long an object of pursuit, and, usually, that it has been prized and desired. We resign what we once held or considered as our own, as an office, employment, etc. We speak of relinquishing a claim, of relinquishing some advantage we had sought or enjoyed, of relinquishing seme right, privilege, etc. ``Men are weary with the toil which they bear, but can not find it in their hearts to relinquish it.'' --Steele. See Abdicate.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(resigns, resigning, resigned) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you resign from a job or position, you formally announce that you are leaving it. A hospital administrator has resigned over claims he lied to get the job... Mr Robb resigned his position last month. = quit VERB: V, V n 2. If you resign yourself to an unpleasant situation or fact, you accept it because you realize that you cannot change it. Pat and I resigned ourselves to yet another summer without a boat... = reconcile VERB: V pron-refl to n/-ing 3. see also resigned

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Yield, surrender, relinquish, forego, abandon, quit, forsake, abdicate, leave, give up, assign back, give back. 2. Withdraw, give up, renounce. 3. Yield, submit, give up, confide. 4. Yield, commit, submit. II. v. n. Abdicate, relinquish office.

Moby Thesaurus

abandon, abdicate, abjure, accede, accept, acknowledge defeat, acquiesce, assent, be agreeable, be pensioned, be superannuated, cease, cede, circulate, come across with, come off, comply, consent, cry quits, cut out, deliver, deliver over, demit, desist, desist from, discontinue, disgorge, dispense with, dispose of, distribute, disuse, do without, drop, dump, face the music, forgo, fork over, forsake, forswear, forward, get along without, get rid of, give away, give in, give notice, give out, give over, give up, go, go along with, hand, hand in, hand out, hand over, have done with, kiss good-bye, knock under, knuckle down, knuckle under, lay down, leave, leave off, let go, live with it, make a sacrifice, nol-pros, not pursue with, not resist, obey, part with, pass, pass out, pass over, pension off, put behind one, quit, quitclaim, reach, recant, release, relent, relinquish, render, render up, renounce, renounce the throne, retire, retire from office, retract, sacrifice, spare, stand aside, stand down, step aside, stop, submit, succumb, superannuate, surrender, swallow it, swallow the pill, swear off, take, take it, terminate, throw up, transfer, turn over, turn up, vacate, waive, withdraw from, yield