Meaning & use
to relish
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To enjoy something greatly, especially something that gives you pleasure or excitement.
Grammar: Takes an object: 'relish the challenge'. You can also say 'relish doing something'.
Patterns
- relish something
- relish doing something
- relish the thought of something
She relished the opportunity to work abroad.
He relishes a good debate.
I don't relish the idea of cleaning the garage this weekend.
verbtransitive
To look forward to something with pleasure.
Grammar: Often used with 'the thought of' or 'the prospect of': 'relish the prospect of a holiday'.
Patterns
- relish the thought of something
- relish the prospect of something
They relished the prospect of a long, lazy summer.
I relished the thought of seeing my old friends again.
Word forms
| third person singular | relishes |
|---|---|
| past tense | relished |
| past participle | relished |
| -ing form | relishing |
Common combinations
- relish the challenge
- She relishes the challenge of learning a new language.
- relish the opportunity
- He relished the opportunity to prove himself.
- relish the thought of
- I relished the thought of a quiet evening at home.
- not relish the idea of
- I don't relish the idea of driving in the snow.
- relish every moment
- They relished every moment of their trip to Italy.
Synonyms and how they differ
- enjoy
- A general word for getting pleasure from something; 'relish' is stronger and often suggests eager excitement.
- savor
- Means to enjoy something slowly and fully, especially taste or an experience; 'relish' focuses more on the feeling of delight.
- delight in
- Similar but often used for taking pleasure in something, sometimes in a slightly critical way (e.g., 'delight in others' mistakes').
Opposites
Word family
- relish noun
- A great enjoyment of something, or a pickled sauce eaten with food.
- relishable adjective
- Rare; able to be enjoyed.
Commonly confused: to relish or relish? to relish or relishing?
to relish vs relish
The noun 'relish' can mean a type of pickled condiment (e.g., pickle relish) or enjoyment. The verb 'to relish' means to enjoy greatly.
to relish vs relishing
The -ing form of the verb; don't confuse it with the noun 'relish'. 'She is relishing the challenge' means she is enjoying it.
Practice
He ______ the chance to show off his cooking skills.
Choose one answer.
'Relish' is a transitive verb, so it takes a direct object without a preposition: 'relished the chance'. 'Relished for' is wrong because 'relish' does not take 'for'. 'Relishing' would need a helping verb (e.g., 'was relishing'), and 'relish' would be correct only in the present tense with a plural subject or I/you.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “to relish”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.