resigned
ri-ZEYND
/rɪˈzaɪnd/
Having accepted something unpleasant that one cannot do anything to change.
Implies a sense of quiet, passive submission accompanied by a touch of sadness or weariness.
The story behind the word. From Latin 'resignare' (to unseal, cancel, or give up a legal claim). Over centuries in English, giving up one's legal claim broadened into giving up one's psychological struggle against reality.
Word relationships
- submissive: Submissive implies yielding to authority; resigned implies yielding to an unpleasant reality or fate.
- acquiescent: Acquiescent means agreeing quietly without enthusiasm; resigned emphasizes accepting loss or difficulty.
- defiant: Boldly resisting or challenging difficulty.
- rebellious: Refusing to accept authority or fate.
Commonly confused with
- re-signed: Re-signed means signed a contract again; resigned means passively submitting to fate.
Word family
- resign (verb): To accept something inevitable or step down from a job.
- resignation (noun): The acceptance of something unwelcome but inevitable.
Collocations
- resigned sigh
- resigned tone
- resigned smile
- become resigned to
Idioms & expressions
- bow to the inevitable
- throw up one's hands
Example sentences
- "With a resigned sigh, the analyst opened the massive spreadsheet and prepared to work through another weekend." Workplace obligation
- "The travelers looked at the flight cancellation board with resigned acceptance, finding seats at the terminal gate." Weather inconvenience
Memory hook
RE-SIGNED to your fate—you've signed off on the struggle. Signing off on the fight against fate.
When not to use
Do not confuse with quitting a job (though that uses the verb 'resign'); as an adjective, it describes psychological surrender to fate.
Fun facts
- In chess, a player who turns over their king is said to 'resign', acknowledging defeat before checkmate occurs.
Related words
Explore more words
resignation, acquiesce, passivity, submissive, compliant, fatalism
Also appears in
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