Re-sign'1, v. t.
(re-zĭn'), v. t. [imp. & p. p. RESIGNED; p. pr. & vb. n. RESIGNING.] [Fr. résigner, Pr., Sp., & Pg. resignar, It. risegnare, rassegnare, Lat. resignare, from re, again, back, and signare, to sign.]
Sense 1. To sign back; to return by a formal act; to yield to another; to surrender; — said especially of office or emolument; hence, to submit; to yield; to give up; — said of the wishes or will, or of something valued; — also, often used reflexively.
here resign my government to thee. Shak.
Lament not, Eve, but patiently resign Whatever thou hast lost. Milton.
What more reasonable, than that we should in all things resign ourselves to the will of God? Tillotson.
Sense 2. To withdraw, as a claim; as, he resigns all pretensions to skill.
He soon resigned his former suit. Spencer.
Sense 3. To commit to the care of; to intrust; to consign. [Obs.]
Gentlemen of quality have been sent beyond the seas, resigned and concredited to the conduct of such as they call governors. Evelyn.
Synonyms— To abdicate; surrender; submit; leave; relinquish; forego; quit; forsake; abandon; renounce. — 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 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, &c. We speak of relinquishing a claim, of relinquishing some advantage we had sought or enjoyed, of relinquishing a subject we had been discussing, of relinquishing some right or privilege, &c. “Men are weary with the toil which they bear, but can not find it in their hearts to relinquish it.” Steele. See ABDICATE.