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resign

v.
US //ɹiˈsaɪn// re·sign
  1. 1 to quit a job (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    to officially tell your employer that you are leaving your job.

    to voluntarily leave a position of employment or office, typically by formal notification.

    Example

    The manager decided to resign from the company to spend more time with his family.

    Example

    After the scandal became public, the CEO was forced to resign from the board to protect the firm's remaining reputation.

    Usage

    Often used with the preposition 'from' when mentioning the organisation.

    Pitfall
    He resigned his job yesterday.
    He resigned from his job yesterday.

    While you can 'resign a position', it is much more common to 'resign from' a job or company.

  2. 2 to accept something bad (v.)
    C1 Advanced Formal

    to accept that something unpleasant is going to happen because you cannot change it.

    to accept something as inevitable or to submit passively to a situation.

    Example

    She had to resign herself to the fact that the holiday was cancelled.

    Example

    The exhausted soldiers eventually resigned themselves to their fate, realizing that no reinforcements would arrive before nightfall.

    Usage

    Commonly used in the reflexive form 'resign oneself to'.

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  1. 3 to give up a right (v.)
    C2 Proficiency Formal Technical Law

    to give up a right, a claim, or control over something.

    to relinquish or hand over a right, power, or possession to another party.

    Example

    The king was forced to resign his claim to the throne.

    Example

    Under the terms of the treaty, the occupied territory was resigned to the neighbouring state without further conflict.

    Usage

    Takes a direct object representing the thing being given up.

Etymology 1

From Anglo-Norman resigner, Middle French resigner, and its source, Latin resignāre (“to unseal, annul, assign, resign”), from re- + signāre (“to seal, stamp”). Piecewise doublet of re-sign.

Etymology 2

From re- + sign.

Word family

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