relent

noun

1. A stay; a stop; a delay.

   “There was no relent, my dear, as we pulled each other in.”

   “The pistons of this engine moved without relent.”

   “She forward went[…] Ne rested till she came without relent Unto the land of Amazons.”

2. (obsolete)A relenting.

verb

1. (intransitive)To give in or be swayed; to become less hard, harsh, or cruel; to show clemency.

   “He had planned to ground his son for a month, but relented and decided to give him a stern lecture instead.”

   “Can you, my Lord of Winchester, behold My sighs and tears and will not once relent?”

   “Only the valley where Sish rested when he and Time were young did Sish not provoke his hours to assail. There he restrained his old hound Time […] For the minds of the gods relent towards their earliest memories, who relent not otherwise at all.”

   “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.

   “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)To become less rigid or hard; to soften; to yield, for example by dissolving or melting

   “[Salt of tartar] placed in a cellar will […] begin to relent.”

   “When opening buds salute the welcome day, / And earth, relenting, feels the genial ray.”

adj

1. (obsolete)Softhearted; yielding.