relent
To give in and become less strict after refusing something.
relent in a sentence
- Dad refused at first, but the children's hopeful faces made him relent and say yes to the puppy.
- Miss Hall would not relent at first, but our polite begging finally won us five extra minutes of play.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to relent?
- Arefuse
- Bresist
- Cinsist
- Dyield
Show the answer
D: yield. The other three mean the opposite of relent.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to relent?
- Asoften
- Binsist
- Csurrender
- Dyield
Show the answer
B: insist. The other three mean nearly the same as relent.
Words that mean something similar
yield, soften, surrender
Words that mean the opposite
insist, refuse, resist
More words about behaviour & manners
- resign: To give up a job or position by your own choice.
- rowdy: Noisy and behaving in a rough, wild way.
- sabotage: To damage or spoil something on purpose so it does not work.
- sacrifice: To give up something you value, to help someone or to gain something more important.
- sanitary: Clean, and helping to protect people's health.
- shun: To avoid someone or something on purpose.
- sneer: To smile in a nasty way that shows you look down on someone; or that nasty smile.
- spontaneous: Done suddenly without planning it first.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test