different between relent vs retract

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???l?nt/
• Rhymes: -?nt

Noun

relent (plural relents)

1. Stay; stop; delay.
   • 2015, Mel Parson, First Sign of Trouble (song)

     There was no relent, my dear, as we pulled each other in.
2. (obsolete) A relenting.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Edmund Spenser to this entry?)

Derived terms

• relentless

Translations

Verb

relent (third-person singular simple present relents, present participle relenting, simple past and past participle relented)

1. (intransitive) To become less severe or intense; to become less hard, harsh, or cruel; to soften in temper

   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.
2. (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.

3. (obsolete, transitive) To lessen, make less severe or intense.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.iv:

     But nothing might relent her hastie flight; / So deepe the deadly feare of that foule swaine / Was earst impressed in her gentle spright […]

4. (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.

Translations

Adjective

relent (comparative more relent, superlative most relent)

1. (obsolete) softhearted; yielding

References

French

Etymology

re- +? lent (“slow”, in the sense “lingering”)

Pronunciation

Noun

relent m (plural relents)

1. lingering smell (usually bad); stench
2. (figuratively) overtone

Further reading

• “relent” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle English

Verb

relent

1. Alternative form of relenten

English

Etymology

From Middle English retracten, from Old French retracter, from Late Latin r?tract? (“I undertake again; I withdraw, refuse, decline; I retract”), from Latin retractus (“withdrawn”), perfect passive participle of retrah? (“I draw or pull back, withdraw; I call back, remove”). Doublet of retreat.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /???t?ækt/
• Rhymes: -ækt

Verb

retract (third-person singular simple present retracts, present participle retracting, simple past and past participle retracted)

1. (transitive) To pull back inside.

2. (transitive, intransitive) To draw back; to draw up.
3. (transitive) To take back or withdraw something one has said.
   • 1676, Edward Stillingfleet, A Defence of the Discourse Concerning the Idolatry Practised in the Church

     I would as freely have retracted this charge of idolatry as I ever made it.

   • 1726, George Granville, The British Enchanters

     She will, and she will not; she grants, denies, / Consents, retracts, advances, and then flies.

4. (transitive, intransitive, academia) To officially withdraw or revoke published academic work.
5. To take back, as a grant or favour previously bestowed; to revoke.
   • 1728, John Woodward, An Attempt towards a Natural History of the Fossils of England

     Filld with the Satisfaction of their own discerning , Faculties , they pass Judgment at first sight ; write on , and are above being ever brought to retract it

Synonyms

• (to take back or withdraw something one has said): take back, withcall, withdraw; See also Thesaurus:recant

Related terms

• retreat

Translations

See also

• epanorthosis (rhetoric)
• unsay
• unspeak

References

• “retract”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.