resign

resign — verb

1. to tell your employer, usually in writing, that you are permanently leaving your

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB1
Definition

to tell your employer, usually in writing, that you are permanently leaving your job — either because you want a change, you disagree with something, or you have found a better position elsewhere.

Example

Élise resigned from her job at the hospital after twelve years on the ward.

resign from + [job/organisation]

Brandon wrote a letter to resign as team leader, citing personal reasons.

resign as + [role]

Common collocations
  • resign from a position
  • resign as director
  • hand in one's resignation
  • offer one's resignation
  • be forced to resign
  • resign in protest
Synonyms
  • quit

    more informal and sudden; less polite than resign

  • step down

    phrasal verb, often used for senior positions; sounds voluntary

  • leave

    neutral and general; does not specify whether the departure was voluntary

Antonyms
  • stay

    remain in the position

  • remain

    continue working at the same organisation

Grammar Patterns

resign from + [organisation/job]

resign as + [role/title]

resign + [position/post] (formal, transitive)

Usage Note

Frequently intransitive (resign without an object). When transitive, the object is a specific post or position ('He resigned the chairmanship'), which is quite formal. Never take a person as direct object — you can resign *from* a team, but you cannot 'resign someone'. Do not confuse with re-sign (pronounced /riːˈzaɪn/), which means to sign a contract again — a completely different word.

Common Mistakes

She resigned the company last month.
She resigned from the company last month.
resign is usually intransitive; use 'from' before the organisation.
The manager resigned him because of poor performance.
The manager forced him to resign because of poor performance.
you cannot resign another person; use 'force/dismiss' instead.

2. in chess, to accept that you have lost the game and stop playing, usually by tip

2.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

in chess, to accept that you have lost the game and stop playing, usually by tipping over your king or saying 'I resign', because your position on the board is hopeless.

Example

After losing his queen in a careless move, Paul resigned immediately.

resign after [a mistake/loss of piece]

Mizuki studied the board for a full minute and then quietly resigned.

quietly resigned

Common collocations
  • resign in chess
  • resign a game
  • resign quietly
  • forced to resign (of a chess position)
Synonyms
  • concede defeat

    used in chess and other competitive contexts

  • give up

    general and less formal; can apply to any situation

Grammar Patterns

resign (in chess)

resign + [a game/match] (rare, transitive)

Usage Note

Almost always intransitive in modern chess. The transitive use ('He resigned the game') is understood but old-fashioned. This sense is a specialised metaphor — outside chess, 'resign' does NOT mean 'give up' in competitions; use 'concede' or 'withdraw' instead.

Common Mistakes

Our team resigned the game after the third goal.
Our team conceded the game after the third goal.
resign is for chess only; use 'concede' for sports.

3. to stop fighting against something unpleasant that you cannot change, and learn

3.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to stop fighting against something unpleasant that you cannot change, and learn to accept it calmly instead of struggling against it — for example, resigning yourself to a long wait, a difficult move, or a loss.

Example

After missing the last bus, Anjali resigned herself to waiting until morning.

resign oneself to + gerund

The Okonkwo family resigned themselves to living in a small flat until they saved enough.

Common collocations
  • resign oneself to fate
  • resign oneself to the idea
  • resign oneself to the fact
  • resign oneself to waiting
  • resigned to one's lot
Synonyms
  • accept

    simpler and more general; does not imply reluctance or struggle

  • come to terms with

    suggests a gradual emotional process

  • submit to

    more formal and carries a sense of defeat or surrender

Antonyms
  • resist

    actively fight against a situation

  • fight

    try to change or oppose what is happening

Grammar Patterns

resign oneself to + [noun]

resign oneself to + [gerund/-ing form]

resign oneself to the fact that + [clause]

Usage Note

Always reflexive — the verb must be followed by a reflexive pronoun (myself/yourself/himself/herself/itself/ourselves/yourselves/themselves) and then 'to'. The object of 'to' can be a noun phrase, a gerund (-ing form), or a that-clause introduced by 'the fact'. This pattern is most common in written and spoken narrative, not in commands or questions.

Common Mistakes

She resigned to the new rules.
She resigned herself to the new rules.
the reflexive pronoun (herself) is required.
He resigned himself accepting the offer.
He resigned himself to accepting the offer.
the preposition 'to' is required before the gerund.
Phrasal verbs

resign oneself to

phrasal verb

to accept an unpleasant situation that you cannot change and stop trying to fight or avoid it

After three failed interviews, Ife resigned herself to staying in her current role for another year.

The villagers resigned themselves to another harsh winter with limited supplies.

resign yourself to

phrasal verb

To accept something unpleasant that you cannot change.

After the storm, the farmer resigned himself to losing his crops.

Maya resigned herself to the fact that she would not get the job.

Word family

  • resignation
    nounB1
  • resigned
    adjectiveB2
  • resignedly
    adverbC1
  • resigner
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words describe leaving a job, but they differ in tone and implication. 'Resign' is the most neutral and formal — it implies a voluntary decision communicated to an employer. 'Quit' is informal and suggests a sudden or emotional departure ('She quit her job on the spot'). 'Step down' is used for high-ranking roles and sounds gracious or honourable ('The CEO stepped down after the scandal'). 'Leave' is the broadest, covering any reason — it does not specify voluntariness. 'Retire' means leaving permanently at the end of one's career, usually at an age threshold. For example, a teacher might resign to move schools, quit in frustration, step down as department head, leave for family reasons, or retire at sixty-five.

quit ↗step downleaveretire ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • decide to resign
  • threaten to resign
  • be forced to resign
  • offer one's resignation
  • hand in one's resignation
  • submit one's resignation
  • resign in protest
  • resign with immediate effect

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

'Resign' entered English in the 1300s from Old French 'resigner', which came from Latin 'resignare' — literally 'to unseal' (re- meaning 'back, again' + signare meaning 'to sign, mark'). The original idea was to break a seal on a document, representing the cancellation of an agreement. Over time, this evolved into the modern meaning of formally giving up a right, claim, or position.