lexicow

relinquish

/rɪˈlɪŋkwɪʃ//rɪˈlɪŋkwɪʃ/·verb
I watch a king stand before his throne, crowned. He takes the crown from his own head and throws it to the ground — it arcs down and lands at his feet — then turns his back and walks away, leaving it lying there in the open. The crown is not handed over or locked away; it is cast off by his own choice, for whoever comes next. He gave the throne up himself.
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Definition

To relinquish something is to give it up on purpose — the formal word for a willing, often reluctant surrender of a right, a claim, or control. It comes from Latin relinquere, 're-' plus 'linquere', to leave: to leave a thing behind by choice. It almost never takes a personal object — you relinquish a title, a claim, the throne, command, not a person. Where forsake is emotional and desert is a betrayal, relinquish is calm and proper: the loss falls on the giver, and the thing handed over is left whole.

Examples

  • The chairman relinquished control of the company to his chosen successor.
  • She refused to relinquish her claim to the land her family had farmed for generations.
  • He relinquished the title he had held for a decade without a word of complaint.

Collocations

relinquish control·relinquish a claim·relinquish power·relinquish the right

Synonyms

surrender·cede·renounce·give up·forgo

Antonyms

retain·keep·claim·seize

Word family

relinquishment (noun)

In TOEFL & IELTS

Formal and often legal: relinquish control / power / a claim / the right / a title. It does not take a personal object — you don't 'relinquish a friend' (that is forsake). The noun is relinquishment. Keep the trio apart: retain (hold on against loss), keep (plain holding), and relinquish (give up by choice).