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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in abandoned
to stop doing (something) permanently
I hope you won't give up playing the piano
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in succumbed
to yield to the control or power of enemy forces
with the prospect of a renewed enemy attack, the regiment decided to simply give up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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Recent Examples of gave up
Fellow righty Abigail Jennings held Oklahoma State scoreless through 1⅓ innings, but gave up three hits and a run in the same amount of work against Kansas City.
—
Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 23 Feb. 2026
The Oakland native gave up her sport at 16, already having landed quad jumps and making the Beijing Olympic team and finishing sixth.
—Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 23 Feb. 2026
After leading a combined no-hitter the previous week, Grant Govel threw six scoreless innings, gave up just one hit and struck out 11 in a win over Rice.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026
In the trades for Mikael Granlund, Cody Ceci and Mikko Rantanen, Dallas gave up six picks, including its 2025, 2026 and 2028 first-round picks.
—Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas Morning News, 23 Feb. 2026
Fernsler gave up three runs off three hits with one strikeout in two innings of work, with the Bruins using the long ball to attack the young pitcher.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Feb. 2026
Connor Hellebuyck was also back between the pipes and Jake Oettinger was his backup while Jeremy Swayman, who gave up a couple of shaky goals in the win over Denmark on Saturday, was the odd man out.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 15 Feb. 2026
Campbell gave up two of the sacks on Maye.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 9 Feb. 2026
The Patriots gave up on Jim Plunkett, who ended up winning two Super Bowls with the Raiders.
—Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 26 Jan. 2026
Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 23 Feb. 2026
The Oakland native gave up her sport at 16, already having landed quad jumps and making the Beijing Olympic team and finishing sixth.
—Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 23 Feb. 2026
After leading a combined no-hitter the previous week, Grant Govel threw six scoreless innings, gave up just one hit and struck out 11 in a win over Rice.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026
In the trades for Mikael Granlund, Cody Ceci and Mikko Rantanen, Dallas gave up six picks, including its 2025, 2026 and 2028 first-round picks.
—Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas Morning News, 23 Feb. 2026
Fernsler gave up three runs off three hits with one strikeout in two innings of work, with the Bruins using the long ball to attack the young pitcher.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Feb. 2026
Connor Hellebuyck was also back between the pipes and Jake Oettinger was his backup while Jeremy Swayman, who gave up a couple of shaky goals in the win over Denmark on Saturday, was the odd man out.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 15 Feb. 2026
Campbell gave up two of the sacks on Maye.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 9 Feb. 2026
The Patriots gave up on Jim Plunkett, who ended up winning two Super Bowls with the Raiders.
—Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gave up
Verb
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McDuffie is highly unlikely to generate the same return that, say, cornerback Sauce Gardner did just three months ago — the Colts relinquished two first-round picks and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell to the New York Jets in exchange for Gardner.—
Sam McDowell
February 20,
Kansas City Star,
20 Feb. 2026
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She was last photographed in September — a month before Andrew relinquished his titles — and hasn’t been seen publicly since.—
Vivian Kwarm,
New York Daily News,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As luck would have it, with late Saturday night’s matchup against the Knicks on the line, the Houston Rockets abandoned their winning formula.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
22 Feb. 2026
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In one case, a vehicle taken from a motel and driven off in the owner’s SUV was later located abandoned near a river after drone surveillance narrowed the search area.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Young and old alike succumbed to a bacteria called Yersinia Pestis, the same microbe responsible for the Black Death seven centuries later.—
Durrie Bouscaren,
NPR,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Sharia law waned in influence as many Arab lands succumbed to foreign domination.—
Anand Gopal,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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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
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Seibert’s niece, said her uncle indulged his love of travel the past three years, even going on a road trip to his old haunts in Washington, Idaho and Montana.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Colt Gray surrendered to police and has admitted to the shooting, according to authorities.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN Money,
28 Feb. 2026
-
That’s when Netflix surrendered.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Bachman quit the band after the Fillmore show in May 1970, fed up with the rigors of touring, business disputes, and lifestyle clashes.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
28 Feb. 2026
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And the quits rate of workers voluntarily leaving their jobs — which can reflect their degree of confidence in the job market — stayed relatively low at around 2% throughout 2025.—
Sarah Jackson,
CNBC,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In the decades since, SUVs have rendered minivans all but obsolete and all but destroyed sedans, too, with cars as venerable as the Lexus LS heading for the exits while that marque’s SUV lineup seemingly never stops expanding.—
Robert Ross,
Robb Report,
26 Feb. 2026
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Using tongs, hold the steak on its side in the center of the skillet and cook the fat cap, undisturbed, until crisp and some of the fat has rendered, 1–2 minutes.—
Eric Wareheim,
Saveur,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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More people discontinued orforglipron during the trial than those who stopped taking semaglutide, too.—
Lauren J. Young,
Scientific American,
26 Feb. 2026
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The cereal held on much longer than many items on this list, finally being discontinued in 2018.—
Kara Nesvig,
Parents,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gave up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gave%20up. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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