Meaning & use
relinquish
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Meanings
verbtransitiveformal
To give up power, control or a position, often when you would prefer not to.
Grammar: Takes an object: relinquish control.
Patterns
- relinquish something
- relinquish something to someone
The king refused to relinquish the throne.
She relinquished her role as chair after ten years.
The company will relinquish control to the new owners.
verbtransitivelegal
To give up a right, claim or possession, usually in an official way.
Grammar: Often appears in legal documents: relinquish a claim.
Patterns
- relinquish a claim
- relinquish rights to something
He relinquished his claim to the land.
The tenant agreed to relinquish the apartment by June.
She relinquished all rights to the property.
verbtransitiveliterary
To let go of something you are holding, usually a physical object or grip.
Grammar: Slightly literary when used physically.
Patterns
- relinquish your grip on something
He slowly relinquished his grip on the rope.
The child would not relinquish the toy.
She relinquished the wheel to her brother.
Word forms
| third person singular | relinquishes |
|---|---|
| past tense | relinquished |
| past participle | relinquished |
| -ing form | relinquishing |
Common combinations
- relinquish control
- He found it hard to relinquish control of the project.
- relinquish power
- The leader agreed to relinquish power.
- relinquish a claim
- The family relinquished their claim.
- relinquish custody
- The court asked him to relinquish custody.
- relinquish the title
- The champion will relinquish the title.
- relinquish your grip
- She would not relinquish her grip.
Synonyms and how they differ
- surrender
- Surrender suggests giving up after a struggle or defeat, while relinquish can be calm and planned.
- give up
- Give up is informal and wide-ranging, while relinquish is formal and often about power or rights.
- renounce
- Renounce means to formally reject something such as a title or belief, whereas relinquish means to let it go.
- cede
- Cede means to hand over land or power to someone else, usually in a treaty.
Opposites
Word family
- relinquishment noun
- the act of giving something up
- relinquished adjective
- given up, no longer held
- relinquisher noun
- someone who gives something up
Commonly confused: relinquish or relinquish?
relinquish vs relinquish
Learners often misspell it; remember the letters q-u-i-s-h after l-i-n.
Practice
After thirty years, the founder finally agreed to ___ control of the company.
Choose one answer.
Relinquish means to give up. Retain means to keep, which is the opposite of what the sentence needs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “relinquish”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.