Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To retire from; give up or abandon.
- v. To put aside or desist from (something practiced, professed, or intended).
- v. To let go; surrender.
- v. To cease holding physically; release: relinquish a grip.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To give up the possession or occupancy of; withdraw from; leave; abandon; quit.
- To cease from; give up the pursuit or practice of; desist from: as, to relinquish bad habits.
- To renounce a claim to; resign:-as, to relinquish a debt. Synonyms Abandon, Desert, etc. (see
forsake ), let go, yield, cede, surrender, give up, lay down. See list underdesert .
Wiktionary
- v. To give up, abandon or retire from something.
- v. To let go (free, away), physically release.
- v. To metaphorically surrender, yield control or possession.
- v. To accept to give up, withdraw etc.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To withdraw from; to leave behind; to desist from; to abandon; to quit.
- v. To give up; to renounce a claim to; resign.
WordNet 3.0
- v. release, as from one's grip
- v. part with a possession or right
- v. turn away from; give up
- v. do without or cease to hold or adhere to
Etymologies
- From Middle English relinquisshen, from the inflected stem of Middle French relinquir, from Latin relinquere, itself, from re- + linquere ("to leave") (Wiktionary)
- Middle English relinquisshen, from Old French relinquir, relinquiss-, from Latin relinquere : re-, re- + linquere, to leave. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“As the plane makes its final approach into Chicago, I think of the word relinquish.”
“No circumstances of the Norman Conquest more forcibly illustrate the humiliation of the conquered people, than the measures by which the invaders imposed their language on the public courts of the country, and endeavored to make it permanently usurp the place of the mother-tongue of the despised multitude; and no fact more signally displays our conservative temper than the general reluctance of English society to relinquish the use of the French words and phrases which still tincture the language of parliament, and the procedures of Westminster Hall, recalling to our minds the insolent domination of a few powerful families who occupied our country by force, and ruled our forefathers with vigorous injustice.”
“China has no claim to Taiwan, so it is not being asked to "relinquish" anything, nor is what is happening "reunification.”
“But following the Prakash Singh Badal and Karunanidhi model where aging leaders are preparing to "relinquish" power to their sons, a Rahul Gandhi coronation in the middle of UPA government's next term seems likely.”
“The term "relinquish" has negative connotations: it means giving up something that may not have been properly yours.”
“But Morrisons said he would instead "relinquish" CEO duties today.”
“relinquish" here is an improvement on modern translations; note how this verse implicitly links atheism and homosexuality and other promiscuity”
“relinquish' in terms of 'irrational beliefs' which people hold due to intuition or because of the positive influence on their lives?”
“It is certainly arguable that having created a culture of freedom out of slavery, segregation, and compulsory labor, when citizenship appeared attainable in the post–World War II period, the black working class demonstrated an unwillingness to relinquish the pleasures of that culture in exchange for their rights.”
“Whereas “the black man” in his current condition was “not fit for self,” the “new black man” would relinquish his desires for “the good life” in service of the nation.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘relinquish’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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2nd part
prelude, ample, escalate, prototype, accession, acquisition, archives, zealot, indict, verdict, intimidating, timid and 454 more...
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common UA vocab. in US
Interesting, there is a traditional vocabulary of an Ukrainian, that differs from vocabulary of average American. It would be nice to explore it.
jackdaw, incongruous, cassock, vivid, magpie, humdrum, amongst, wonder, wandering, wheedling, wheedle, osseous and 368 more...
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GRE
predilection, explicit, appeal, supplication, appealing, enchanting, ovation, pertinent, apropos, opportunely, applicable, germane and 381 more...
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aujourdui's list
totally fantabulous words
wombat, spiffing, gnarly, splendiferous, yoda, rockocity, shmexy, rebrella, coolio, liger, ravenous, crudsicles and 12 more...
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Verb ish
English verbs that end in -ish.
Most of these come from Old French stems that end in 'iss' like floriss-, brandiss-, distinguiss-, etc.
Exceptions are: Fish, Wish, Dish (f...flourish, brandish, vanish, astonish, perish, polish, nourish, famish, accomplish, admonish, banish, blemish and 24 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1901 more...
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ChortleGiggleSnort
Significant Words- Guiding you on your path to Snazzibility
flimsy, feeble, ranting, ramble, narky, snazzy, yoghurt, bulbous, pustule, globulous, geranium, megalomaniac and 521 more...
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Words
My list of words.
veritable, facetious, nadir, quixotic, apropos, acquiesce, ostensible, insipid, egregious, inveterate, coax, adroit and 409 more...
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My preparation
for GRE ofcourse
morbid, disparate, incipient, exonerate, engross, ebullient, predilection, propensity, allure, qualms, chastise, perpetuate and 111 more...
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Words I Know
List of most of the words I've learned
garner, abase, abate, abdicate, abduct, aberration, abet, abhor, abide, abject, abjure, abnegation and 1046 more...
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The Most Beautiful Words in the Engli...
mellifluous, obscure, star-crossed, undulating, solstice, messiah, audacious, solace, twilight, wanderlust, lovelorn, byzantine and 219 more...
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Caesar
Bellum Gallicum
encroach, vanquish, bid, assail, avail, surmount, coerce, discomfit, rout, noteworthy, subjugate, governance and 22 more...
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What Do You Mean $
ahh these hurt.....
hermit, prone, maxim, guise, solvenly, lurid, lax, amiable, irate, cloister, mediate, nettle and 100 more...
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SAT Vocab
Redundant.
problematic, proclivity, prodigal, prodigious, prodigy, profane, profligate, profound, profusion, proliferation, prolific, prologue and 455 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for relinquish.
yarb All our patients die eventually. They should do six things for their 'Death Work': ... (4) relinquish independence.
- Peter Reading, C, 1984 Jul 23, 2008