gave up

Definition of gave upnext
past tense of give up
1
as in relinquished
to give (something) over to the control or possession of another usually under duress was in so much debt he had to give up his house and move into a cheaper apartment

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
3
4
as in indulged
to give (oneself) over to something especially unrestrainedly even in the darkest days of her troubled marriage, she refused to give herself up to feelings of utter hopelessness

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of gave up Making his second career start, Schultz (1-1) gave up Darell Hernaiz's solo home run in the second inning. CBS News, 20 Apr. 2026 Díaz gave up three runs and failed to get an out in the Dodgers’ 9-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies in a non-save situation Sunday, in what was his first appearance in nine days. Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026 But Arizona's bullpen gave up the lead. ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026 In his last three starts before the All-Star break, Alcantara gave up 24 hits and 18 earned runs in 17 innings. Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2026 Imanaga struck out seven in five innings, but also gave up four runs on six hits. Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026 The best starter was right-hander George Klassen, who gave up one earned run in 4⅔ innings, with five strikeouts and no walks. Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 30 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gave up
Verb
  • The couple, who relinquished their medical licenses shortly after their daughter's death, have disputed Scott's claims and maintained their love for their daughter and granddaughter.
    Juliet Pennington, PEOPLE, 17 Apr. 2026
  • Two years later, Unwell relinquished the rights to the show, and the departure seemed not to be amicable.
    Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 13 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • And the paintings began, in part, as a meditation on erasure—a rebuke, of sorts, to a digital regime that had abandoned writing’s tactility.
    Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
  • The speed problem Imas hasn’t abandoned his fears.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • He was later transported to a local hospital but subsequently succumbed to his injuries, according to the police.
    Hema Sivanandam, Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2026
  • After filming, Eric Dane, who brilliantly portrayed tortured parent Cal Jacobs, succumbed to the effects of ALS in February of this year.
    Shirley Halperin, Rolling Stone, 9 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • His appetite for complexity was increasingly indulged as a means of branding cities and institutions, and his novel forms were deployed as blunt metaphors to absorb and obscure contradictions rather than negotiate them in material and spatial terms.
    Julian Rose, Artforum, 26 Mar. 2026
  • The custodian of the maison’s some 20,000 documents, fragments, and objects is the effervescent Sophie Rouart, who indulged me in pulling any style of my choosing.
    Stephanie Sporn, Vogue, 27 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Since when in 250 years has America surrendered democracy to one person, putting aside the law and the Constitution?
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2026
  • Chase Dollander surrendered one run on four hits in 4 1/3 innings for Colorado after Jimmy Herget opened with a 1-2-3 first.
    ABC News, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Nevertheless, Kayla refused to quit.
    Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 11 Apr. 2026
  • The town has been operating without a local government since January, when its entire Board of Trustees quit following years of bitter infighting and a violent scuffle that sent one of the trustees to the hospital, The Denver Post reported last month.
    Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Picasso's grandson, Olivier Widmaier Picasso, said the painting is rendered in the artist's signature style and the grey, white and cream composition reflects the sombre mood of the era, per Reuters.
    Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
  • The vision of acclaimed designer Jean-Michel Gathy is beautifully rendered in Il Salotto, the sleek lobby bar, with its regional touches like wool wall hangings, soaring floor-to-ceiling windows, and five fireplaces.
    Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 15 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Meta laid off a chunk of its hardware division responsible for headsets and discontinued a key metaverse product called Horizon Worlds for people to meet up virtually.
    Bloomberg, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
  • The store discontinued its general catalog in 1993.
    Domenica Bongiovanni, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026

Cite this Entry

“Gave up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gave%20up. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.

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