: feeling or showing acceptance that something unwanted or unpleasant will happen or cannot be changed
a resigned sigh
They had the resigned manners of long-term detainees.—
Jonathan Raban
—often used with toJonathan RabanHe was fifty-seven years old and resigned to the fact that the rest of his days would be spent in convenient bachelorhood …—James A. Michener
James A. MichenerI am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the cold ground.—Edna St. Vincent Millay
Edna St. Vincent Millay… Mr. Ogata is resigned to his life rather than contented.—James Sterngold
James Sterngold
resignedly
adverb
With a gleam in his eye and a twinkle in his lens, he seems to tell us sweetly, sadly, rather resignedly that a little absurdity, a bit of imbalance is about what we should expect from life.
—Vicki Goldberg
Vicki Goldberg
Synonyms
Examples of resigned in a Sentence
I am resigned to the fact that I'll never make the list of the 400 richest Americans
Recent Examples on the Web
Crowds gathering for the Royal Horticultural Society’s Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival on the sprawling palace grounds reached into backpacks for umbrellas with the resigned look of people attending a supremely English occasion designed to be held in sunshine.
—Sophie Elmhirst, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2024
The second-year Chicago Bears cornerback let out a resigned sigh and laugh.
—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2024
There are the resigned glances of terminal patients in hospice.
—Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2024
Those movies thrived on human absurdity, yet their characters spoke in a bored monotone, regarding the strange circumstances of their lives with resigned terror.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 21 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for resigned 
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Sophie Elmhirst, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2024
The second-year Chicago Bears cornerback let out a resigned sigh and laugh.
—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2024
There are the resigned glances of terminal patients in hospice.
—Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2024
Those movies thrived on human absurdity, yet their characters spoke in a bored monotone, regarding the strange circumstances of their lives with resigned terror.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 21 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for resigned
Dictionary Entries Near resigned
Cite this Entry
“Resigned.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resigned. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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