RELENTED Synonyms: 114 Similar and Opposite Words

relented

verb

past tense of relent

as in succumbed

to cease resistance (as to another's arguments, demands, or control) the supervisor finally relented in the face of the petition, and allowed employees to take longer lunch breaks

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Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in subsided

to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually the fury of the storm relented, and the next day the sun finally broke through the clouds

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of relented Wishing to avoid scandal, the Mesmers relented and the wedding proceeded in 1887. — Andrew Coletti, Popular Science, 14 Oct. 2026 The Palestinian militant group Hamas initially resisted using women in suicide attacks but relented in 2004. — Sara Harmouch, The Conversation, 1 Oct. 2026 The company relented to a public outcry and lowered the price, again impacting the bottom line. — Joshua Ceballos, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026 Wagoner relented and Parton, with a song that captured the pain of deep heartbreak, embarked on a solo career almost incomparable in the history of American music. — CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026 Payne, who was apparently in love with Shelley himself, sat on them for a little while, but eventually relented. — Eric Lach, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2026 Mourinho reacted by again threatening to leave, but relented after receiving further public backing from the president. — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026 The weather relented in the afternoon with just over three hours of play possible on the second day. — ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026 When the paper imposed a fee, readers revolted; the editors relented in some editions. — Sam Roberts, Longreads, 11 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for relented

Verb

Shakur succumbed to his gunshot wounds six days after being gunned down.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
He was shot four times and succumbed to his injuries six days later.

— Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of succumbed

Verb

But within a couple years, as the pandemic eased and community-police tension subsided, Bolingbrook Police Chief Mike Rompa started using his village purchasing card – known as a p-card – in a different way than others with the same cards.

— Irika Sargent, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
Meanwhile, conditions were improving in the tourist destination of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, where residents began resuming normal activities as the rain subsided.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of subsided

Verb

Now the prevalence of malaria is around 7%, and deaths of children under five decreased by 78%.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
The definitive study of feedback, Avraham Kluger and Angelo DeNisi’s meta-analysis of 23,663 observations, found that over a third of feedback interventions decreased performance.

— Zaharia-Gabriel Sidere, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of decreased

Verb

The researchers will then randomly choose around 1/3 of people who submitted a lone star tick, another 1/3 of people who submitted a black legged tick and 1/3 of people who submitted a positive alpha-gal tick to the laboratory.

— Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 14 Oct. 2026
The county faced no opposition to its bid for the point-in-time count and the regional application, but the city submitted competing bids for the database and matching system.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of submitted

Verb

The weather service canceled the flood watch for nearly all the Kansas City forecast area because the threat of additional heavy rain had diminished.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 14 Oct. 2026
One can see this when a paint’s color appears diminished and faded.

— Wendy S. Walters, Architectural Digest, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of diminished

Verb

Griess, the superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, said the 430 trees that were felled were not identified as hazardous or raising safety concerns.

— Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2026
Yet trees that took a millennium to grow can be felled in under an hour.

— Annika Hammerschlag, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of fell

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relenting

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“Relented.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relented. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of relented

verb

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