Library / English Dictionary

RELINQUISH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Release, as from one's grip

Example:

relinquish your grip on the rope--you won't fall

Synonyms:

let go; let go of; release; relinquish

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "relinquish"):

discharge; muster out (release from military service)

unclasp (release from a clasp)

pop (release suddenly)

toggle (release by a toggle switch)

unhand (remove the hand from)

bring out; let out (bring out of a specific state)

unleash (release or vent)

let loose; loose; unleash (turn loose or free from restraint)

unleash (release from a leash)

disengage; withdraw (release from something that holds fast, connects, or entangles)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

relinquishment (the act of giving up and abandoning a struggle or task etc.)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Turn away from; give up

Example:

I am foreswearing women forever

Synonyms:

foreswear; quit; relinquish; renounce

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "relinquish" is one way to...):

abandon; give up (give up with the intent of never claiming again)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "relinquish"):

disclaim (renounce a legal claim or title to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

relinquishing (a verbal act of renouncing a claim or right or position etc.)

relinquishment (the act of giving up and abandoning a struggle or task etc.)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Part with a possession or right

Example:

resign a claim to the throne

Synonyms:

free; give up; release; relinquish; resign

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "relinquish" is one way to...):

give; hand; pass; pass on; reach; turn over (place into the hands or custody of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "relinquish"):

derequisition (release from government control)

give; sacrifice (endure the loss of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something to somebody

Derivation:

relinquishing (the act of giving up and abandoning a struggle or task etc.)

relinquishment (a verbal act of renouncing a claim or right or position etc.)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Do without or cease to hold or adhere to

Example:

relinquish the old ideas

Synonyms:

dispense with; forego; foreswear; forgo; relinquish; waive

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "relinquish"):

give up; kick (stop consuming)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

Pluto has a way of teaching that although you may feel you could not possibly live without that person or situation because your entire security is dependent on that circumstance or person, you can relinquish it and not only survive but thrive.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Perhaps they began to feel it might have been kinder and wiser to have resisted the temptation of any delay, and spared her from a taste of such enjoyments of ease and leisure as must now be relinquished.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Nothing, on the contrary, could be more natural; and while able to suppose that it cost him a few struggles to relinquish her, she was ready to allow it a wise and desirable measure for both, and could very sincerely wish him happy.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

I shall relinquish all my young people in another six months, and lead a quieter life.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

You give it up very gleefully, said he; I don't quite understand your light-heartedness, because I cannot tell what employment you propose to yourself as a substitute for the one you are relinquishing.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Having grown tired, apparently, of the task, she relinquished the oar to me.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Being a domestic man, John decidedly missed the wifely attentions he had been accustomed to receive, but as he adored his babies, he cheerfully relinquished his comfort for a time, supposing with masculine ignorance that peace would soon be restored.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I gave several hours to the serious consideration of this difficulty, but I was obliged to relinquish all attempt to supply it, and wrapping myself up in my cloak, I struck across the wood towards the setting sun.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

She felt herself ill-used and unfortunate, as did her father; and they were neither of them able to devise any means of lessening their expenses without compromising their dignity, or relinquishing their comforts in a way not to be borne.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

That she would never waver in it, never be diverted from it, never relinquish it, while there was any chance of hope.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)