give up

Definition of give upnext
1
as in to relinquish
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 to surrender
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 give up In 2024, 4,819 Americans gave up their citizenship, according to Bambridge Accountants New York that specializes in expat taxes. Medora Lee, USA Today, 27 Jan. 2026 With a father who has all but given up, a disconnected mother, 2 moody teenagers and a tempestuous little one – there’s already plenty of drama for one family to manage. Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 27 Jan. 2026 In similar fashion, Gillette will give up its name on the stadium for the seven World Cup matches scheduled in the venue. Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 26 Jan. 2026 Advertisement The priest gives up the location of the memoirs, and Toni retaliates by letting Vittorio be assassinated in his place. Rory Doherty, Time, 26 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for give up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for give up
Verb
  • But as anyone knows who’s ever lost — or even voluntarily relinquished — a foundational piece of themselves, to understand loss is not the same as to accept it.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 23 Jan. 2026
  • The president doubled down on his hostilities late Monday, criticizing Britain’s decision to relinquish control of the Chagos Islands, an Indian Ocean archipelago home to an Anglo-American military base.
    NBC news, NBC news, 20 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Japan embarked on the path to policy normalization in March 2024, abandoning the world's last negative interest rate regime, and has stressed on raising rates subject to a virtuous cycle of growth in wages and prices.
    Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 23 Jan. 2026
  • The cards were left in several cars abandoned after their occupants were arrested by ICE agents earlier this week in Eagle County, during what Sánchez described as fake traffic stops.
    Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 23 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • As a result, they’re almost guaranteed to succumb to dehydration within just a few hours.
    Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Others gain freedom, only to succumb to longstanding health issues that were never addressed properly in prison.
    Yosha Gunasekera, PEOPLE, 21 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • In a 28-16 win over a dominant Texans defensive line, Campbell surrendered four quarterback pressures and two sacks, according to Pro Football Focus.
    Luca Evans, Denver Post, 23 Jan. 2026
  • After only eight interceptions in 17 regular-season games, Maye has surrendered six in just two playoff games.
    Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 23 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • The moratorium will halt the initial stages of free agency in which teams would seek to deliver qualifying offers and franchise tag designations to players.
    Doug Feinberg, Twin Cities, 13 Jan. 2026
  • Barajas and other co-defendants picked up the parcels and delivered them to Thola-Duran and others, with Thola-Duran acting as a fence to buy the goods at a fraction of their retail value, according to the indictment.
    City News Service, Daily News, 13 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Hechtman, who quit drinking in 2021 after participating in Dry January, a challenge to abstain from alcohol for 31 days, said her social life has flourished since then.
    Aria Bendix, NBC news, 24 Jan. 2026
  • Eskander had been part of the original canon committee, but quit a year into the work.
    Colton Valentine, New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Consider the Trefis Reinforced Value (RV) Portfolio, which has exceeded the returns of its all-cap stock benchmark (a combination of the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 benchmark indices) to yield robust returns for investors.
    Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
  • This exchange yielded them two critically important pieces of new information.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • The pill his team developed, YCT-529, works by blocking a vitamin-A-dependent protein essential for sperm growth, temporarily rendering men infertile without affecting their testosterone levels and thereby potentially introducing related side effects.
    Ana Castelain, Bloomberg, 28 Jan. 2026
  • Supporters of the pardon power further assured their colleagues that impeachment would furnish a corrective to any overuse of pardoning, underestimating the extent to which the modern party system would render this nearly impossible.
    Bernadette Meyler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026

Cite this Entry

“Give up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/give%20up. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.

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