EN

Synonyms for relinquish

  • verb

Most common

abandon surrender renounce quit give up re-sign

Synonyms by meaning

Verb

1. Abandon

abandon, surrender, renounce, quit, waive, abdicate, leave, cede, forgo, give over, forsake, discontinue, lay down, abjure formal, part with, abstain, dispense with, drop, evacuate, forbear, yield, desert

2. Release

give up, re-sign, release, free

Other

let go, turn in, lay aside, deliver, disgorge, cave-in, concede, render

Antonyms

defeat, commandeer, procure

All antonyms of relinquish →

Definitions

  1. v. 1

    To give up, abandon or retire from something; to trade away.

    to relinquish citizenship or nationality

  2. v. 2

    To let go (free, away), physically release.

Related words

Word family
relinquishment relic reliquary reliquiae

Forms

Past participle
relinquished
e.g. relinquished → abandoned, surrendered, renounced, quitted…

Choose the right word

Relinquish or Relinquishes?

Relinquish commonly implies reluctance; the fainting hand relinquishes its grasp; the creditor relinquishes his claim.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

  • quit The odds are against me, so I think I'll quit now.
  • surrender Sami was forced by the police to surrender his dog.
  • abandon Many Armenians were forced to abandon their lands.
  • renounce I renounce everything as long as I can be with you.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
relinquishsteady
quitrising
surrendersteady
abandonsteady
renouncesteady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters
free1, drop1, quit1, cede1
5 letters
leave1, yield1, waive1, forgo2
6 letters
desert2, render2, abjure
7 letters
release2, deliver3, abandon3, concede2, abstain2, forsake2, forbear
8 letters
evacuate4, renounce2, abdicate3, disgorge2
9 letters
surrender3
11 letters
discontinue4

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (forgo2 = 2 syllables).