The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Relent \Re*lent"\, v. t.
1. To slacken; to abate. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
And oftentimes he would relent his pace. --Spenser.
[1913 Webster]
2. To soften; to dissolve. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
3. To mollify; to cause to be less harsh or severe. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Relent \Re*lent"\ (r?-l?nt"), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Relented; p.
pr. & vb. n. Relenting.] [F. ralentir, fr. L. pref. re- re-
+ ad to + lentus pliant, flexible, slow. See Lithe.]
1. To become less rigid or hard; to yield; to dissolve; to
melt; to deliquesce. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
He stirred the coals till relente gan
The wax again the fire. --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
[Salt of tartar] placed in a cellar will . . . begin
to relent. --Boyle.
[1913 Webster]
When opening buds salute the welcome day,
And earth, relenting, feels the genial ray. --Pope.
[1913 Webster]
2. To become less severe or intense; to become less hard,
harsh, cruel, or the like; to soften in temper; to become
more mild and tender; to feel compassion.
[1913 Webster]
Can you . . . behold
My sighs and tears, and will not once relent?
--Shak.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Relent \Re*lent"\ (r?-l?nt"), n.
Stay; stop; delay. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
Nor rested till she came without relent
Unto the land of Amazons. --Spenser.
[1913 Webster]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
71 Moby Thesaurus words for "relent":
accede, accept, acquiesce, assent, be agreeable, be conservative,
be moderate, be pacifistic, bend, capitulate, come round, comply,
compromise, consent, die down, ease off, ebb, face the music, fall,
forbear, forgive, give, give ground, give quarter, give way,
go along with, have mercy upon, have pity, keep the peace,
keep within bounds, keep within compass, knock under, knuckle down,
knuckle under, let up, let up on, live temperately, live with it,
melt, moderate, not make waves, not resist, obey, pardon,
practice nonviolence, practice self-control, relax, remit,
reprieve, resign, settle down, show mercy, show pity, slacken,
sober down, soften, spare, strike a balance, submit, subside,
succumb, swallow it, swallow the pill, take, take in sail, take it,
take pity on, thaw, unbend, wane, yield