relent
/ɹɪˈlɛnt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.52 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To give in or be swayed; to become less hard, harsh, or cruel; to show clemency.
Intransitive verb
verb
To become less rigid or hard; to soften; to yield, for example by dissolving or melting
Dated; Intransitive verb
Example Sentences
- "He had planned to ground his son for a month, but relented and decided to give him a stern lecture instead."
- "Can you, my Lord of Winchester, behold My sighs and tears and will not once relent?"
- "Only the valley where Sish rested when he and Time were young did Sish not provoke his hours to assail. There he restrained his old hound Time […] For the minds of the gods relent towards their earliest memories, who relent not otherwise at all."
- "I did, I suppose, hope that she might finally relent a little and make some conciliatory response or other."
- "We waited for the storm to relent before we ventured outside."
- "He will not relent in his effort to reclaim his victory."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: relenten, relentir, re-
Usage
Inflected Forms
relents (present, singular)
relenting (participle, present)
relented (participle, past)
relented (past)
relents (plural)
more relent (comparative)
most relent (superlative)