resign

Definitions

1. 1.To relinquish; to abandon. He soon resigned his former suit. Spenser.
2. 2.To commit to the care of; to consign. [Obs.] Gentlement of quality have been sent beyong the seas, resigned and concredited to the conduct of such as they call governors. Evelyn. -- Resign, Relinquish. To resign is to give up, as if breaking a seal and yielding all it had secured; hence, it marks a formal and deliberate surrender. To relinquish is less formal, but always implies abandonment and that the thing given up has been long an object of pursuit, and, usually, that it has been prized and desired. We resign what we once held or considered as our own, as an office, employment, etc. We speak of relinquishing a claim, of relinquishing some advantage we had sought or enjoyed, of relinquishing seme right, privilege, etc. "Men are weary with the toil which they bear, but can not find it in their hearts to relinquish it." Steele. See Abdicate.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

• What does "resign" mean?
• What is another word for "resign"?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is resign.

• What is to relinquish; to abandon. He soon resigned his former suit. Spenser called?