What does relent mean?
Relent means to become less severe, to yield, or to stop insisting after sustained pressure. Its central idea is that an aggressive demand, pursuit, attack, or condition loses force and gives way. A person may relent by lowering demands or accepting an argument, while something inanimate may relent when its intensity diminishes: “The rain finally relented.” In modern English, the word is usually intransitive, though it can also appear in formal or older transitive constructions meaning to moderate or lessen. Relent is distinct from relieve, which implies removing a burden or difficulty; relent often describes a gradual reduction in pressure or a decision to yield. The word has a formal, literary, and sometimes dramatic quality, making it useful when the persistence and eventual surrender of opposing forces are important to the description.
verbTo become less harsh, severe, or persistent; to soften, yield, or give way, especially under pressure. It can also mean to stop pressing a demand or abandoning a determined effort.
- To become less harsh or severe, especially in a person's demands, opposition, or manner.
- To stop or give up persistent effort, opposition, or pressure.
- To ease or moderate, especially in formal or literary contexts.
"After months of resistance, the committee finally relented and approved the proposal."
"The landlord would not relent until the tenants presented their evidence."
"The storm continued through the night, but at last its fury relented."
Relent began as a metaphor for flexibility: its Latin root conveyed slowness or suppleness, and the word eventually came to mean giving way rather than pressing on.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does relent come from?
Relent entered English through Anglo-French relentier and Medieval Latin relentare, a word based on Latin lentus, meaning slow, flexible, or supple. Its earliest development centered on making something less stiff or severe, and its sense later extended to the idea of yielding or moderating. English cognates include lenient, lenity, and the adjective lent, while musical lente also reflects the same Latin root.
Related word forms
How relent is actually used
Relent is especially common in formal, literary, and journalistic prose. It is usually intransitive in modern use, though older usage also allows it to mean 'make less severe' or 'moderate,' as in 'relent one's demands.' It is distinct from relieve, which means to remove a burden or alleviate suffering rather than simply become less intense.
Easily confused with relent
To resent something is to feel bitter or indignant about it, whereas to relent is to become less demanding or stop insisting.