relented

Verb

relent (third-person singular simple present relents, present participle relenting, simple past and past participle relented)

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.
2. (intransitive) To slacken; to abate.
   • We waited for the storm to relent before we ventured outside.
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 […]1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC
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.1669, Robert Boyle, The History of Fluidity and Firmness

See all 7 meanings of relent