waive — to give up a right or claim voluntarily; to refrain from enforcing or requiring
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: to give up a right or claim voluntarily; to refrain from enforcing or requiring
Pronunciation (IPA): /weɪv/
Example Sentences
- The hotel waived the pet fee when they saw how well-behaved my goldfish was.
- She agreed to waive her right to a lawyer, confident she could represent herself.
- The professor waived the final exam for students who attended every single boring lecture.
waive
VERB[/weɪv/]
to give up a right or claim voluntarily; to refrain from enforcing or requiring

The generous landlord tore up the document to waive the late fee.

WA(wave) + IVE(give) — he WAVED his hand to GIVE the gold medal to the injured runner, choosing to waive his prize.

To climb out of the collapsing cave, he had to waive his heavy bag of gold.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
From Old Norse 'veifa' meaning 'to wave' or 'to brandish,' which entered English through Anglo-Norman French as 'weyver.' The sense evolved from the literal meaning of waving or gesturing to the legal meaning of relinquishing a right through a gesture or formal act.
Breakdown
waive (from Old Norse 'veifa' - to wave/brandish) = a single morpheme with no productive prefix or suffix breakdown in modern English; the meaning shifted from physical waving to voluntary relinquishment of a claim or right
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“The hotel waived the pet fee when they saw how well-behaved my goldfish was.”
“She agreed to waive her right to a lawyer, confident she could represent herself.”
“The professor waived the final exam for students who attended every single boring lecture.”
“The company decided to waive the dress code on Fridays.”
📚Related Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
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