resignation
rez-ig-NAY-shuhn
/ˌrɛz.ɪɡˈneɪ.ʃən/
The acceptance of something undesirable but inevitable; or the formal act of relinquishing an office.
In psychological terms, it denotes passive, calm acceptance of bad news or hard fate without active struggle.
The story behind the word. Resignation comes from the Latin 'resignare', meaning 'to unseal' or 'cancel a sign'. Historically used when relinquishing a religious office, it gradually broadened to mean passive acceptance of an unalterable fate.
Word relationships
- acquiescence: Acquiescence implies reluctant agreement, while resignation focuses on passive acceptance of an unalterable fate.
- surrender: Surrender emphasizes giving up conflict under pressure, while resignation is an internal emotional state of acceptance.
- defiance: Defiance is open resistance and refusal to obey or accept.
- rebellion: Rebellion is active opposition to an outcome or power.
Commonly confused with
- fatalism: Fatalism is the philosophy that events are pre-ordered; resignation is the quiet emotional state of accepting them.
Word family
- resign (verb): Voluntarily leave a job or accept an inevitable situation.
- resigned (adjective): Having accepted something unpleasant that one cannot change.
Collocations
- quiet resignation
- air of resignation
- sigh of resignation
- accept with resignation
Idioms & expressions
- bowing to the inevitable
Example sentences
- "When told that the factory would close permanently, the workers met the news with quiet resignation rather than anger." Psychological Observation
- "She bowed her head in resignation, knowing that arguing with the judge's final verdict would be pointless." Literary Character Analysis
Memory hook
RESIGN = Re-SIGNing your control over the situation to destiny. Sign off and accept it.
When not to use
Do not confuse with enthusiastic agreement; resignation is reluctant and passive.
Fun facts
- In political science, a government's 'resignation' formally dissolves the cabinet, leaving a power vacuum until new leaders are sworn in.
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