relent
English
Etymology
From Middle English relenten, from Anglo-Norman relentir, from Latin re- + lentare (“to bend”), from lentus (“soft, pliant, slow”). Earliest recording dates to 1526.[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɹɪˈlɛnt/
- Rhymes: -ɛnt
Audio (UK) (file)
Noun
relent (plural relents)
- Stay; stop; delay.
- 2015, Mel Parsons, First Sign of Trouble (song)
- There was no relent, my dear, as we pulled each other in.
- 2016, Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad, Fleet (2017), page 193:
- The pistons of this engine moved without relent.
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938:
- She forward went […]
Ne rested till she came without relent
Unto the land of Amazons.
- 2015, Mel Parsons, First Sign of Trouble (song)
- (obsolete) A relenting.
Derived terms
- relentless
Translations
stop, delay
|
Verb
relent (third-person singular simple present relents, present participle relenting, simple past and past participle relented)
- (intransitive) To give in or be swayed; to become less hard, harsh, or cruel; to show clemency.
- He had planned to ground his son for a month, but relented and decided to give him a stern lecture instead.
- 1989, Kazuo Ishiguro The Remains of the Day
- I did, I suppose, hope that she might finally relent a little and make some conciliatory response or other.
- 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene i]:
- Can you, my Lord of Winchester, behold
My sighs and tears and will not once relent?
- (intransitive) To slacken; to abate.
- We waited for the storm to relent before we ventured outside.
- He will not relent in his effort to reclaim his victory.
- (obsolete, transitive) To lessen, make less severe or intense.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938:
- But nothing might relent her hastie flight; / So deepe the deadly feare of that foule swaine / Was earst impressed in her gentle spright […]
-
- (dated, intransitive, of substance) To become less rigid or hard; to soften; to yield, for example by dissolving or melting
- 1669, Robert Boyle, The History of Fluidity and Firmness
- [Salt of tartar] placed in a cellar will […] begin to relent.
- 1717, Alexander Pope, “Eloisa to Abelard”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], published 1717, OCLC 43265629:
- When opening buds salute the welcome day, / And earth, relenting, feels the genial ray.
- 1669, Robert Boyle, The History of Fluidity and Firmness
Translations
become less severe, give in
|
slacken, abate
|
become less rigid, yield
|
Adjective
relent (comparative more relent, superlative most relent)
- (obsolete) softhearted; yielding
References
- merriam-webster.com
French
Etymology
re- + lent (“slow”, in the sense “lingering”)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʁə.lɑ̃/
Audio (file)
Noun
relent m (plural relents)
- lingering smell (usually bad); stench
- (figuratively) overtone
Further reading
- “relent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Middle English
Verb
relent
- Alternative form of relenten