1
as in to succumb
to cease resistance (as to another's arguments, demands, or control)
encouraged her to stand firm and not knuckle under to political pressure
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to surrender
to yield to the control or power of enemy forces
the remote outpost was overrun and forced to knuckle under
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Recent Examples of knuckle under
The front lines of our legal edifice have been divided and conquered, with premier law firms knuckling under and meekly promising to shut up and work for Trump, while the Supreme Court carefully pulls its punches to avoid a showdown.
—
Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Apr. 2025
Of course, Cruz knuckled under a little while later.
—James Hohmann, Washington Post, 9 July 2024
Miraculously, however, it is told in the voice of a musician, Rainy, a man who refuses to knuckle under and whose tones remain kind and more hopeful than despairing.
—Katherine A. Powers, Washington Post, 22 June 2024
Biden is all too willing to knuckle under both to the environmentalists who want to stop any new conventional-energy development and to the labor bosses who don’t want to see the ports modernized and automated, which might eat into their discretionary funds.
—The Editors, National Review, 23 June 2022
Please do not knuckle under.
—Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 25 Oct. 2021
His determination to hold on to his dignity, to not knuckle under, marked a pathway for our family to move forward, to expand on what he’d not been allowed to do.
—Deborah Johnson, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Feb. 2023
As noted in this space in 2015, the company required participants in its Times Journeys program — pricey overseas trips guided by Times journalists — to knuckle under to an arbitration clause.
—Erik Wemple, Washington Post, 24 Dec. 2022
Europe’s governing parties can’t knuckle under to Russian blackmail and retain their democratic viability.
—Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 30 Aug. 2022
Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Apr. 2025
Of course, Cruz knuckled under a little while later.
—James Hohmann, Washington Post, 9 July 2024
Miraculously, however, it is told in the voice of a musician, Rainy, a man who refuses to knuckle under and whose tones remain kind and more hopeful than despairing.
—Katherine A. Powers, Washington Post, 22 June 2024
Biden is all too willing to knuckle under both to the environmentalists who want to stop any new conventional-energy development and to the labor bosses who don’t want to see the ports modernized and automated, which might eat into their discretionary funds.
—The Editors, National Review, 23 June 2022
Please do not knuckle under.
—Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 25 Oct. 2021
His determination to hold on to his dignity, to not knuckle under, marked a pathway for our family to move forward, to expand on what he’d not been allowed to do.
—Deborah Johnson, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Feb. 2023
As noted in this space in 2015, the company required participants in its Times Journeys program — pricey overseas trips guided by Times journalists — to knuckle under to an arbitration clause.
—Erik Wemple, Washington Post, 24 Dec. 2022
Europe’s governing parties can’t knuckle under to Russian blackmail and retain their democratic viability.
—Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 30 Aug. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knuckle under
Verb
-
Most of the resulting plants succumbed to rust; the few that made it were crossed with one another to produce the next generation.—
Elizabeth Kolbert,
New Yorker,
23 June 2025
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Don’t succumb to the urge to overfertilize, which leads to other problems. 4.—
Andy Wilcox,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 June 2025
Verb
-
Left-hander José Castillo surrendered RBI singles to Eli White and Nick Allen.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
25 June 2025
-
Dominic Canzone’s sixth-inning home run was the seventh run Ober gave up, marking the second time in three starts that Ober has surrendered seven runs.—
Betsy Helfand,
Twin Cities,
24 June 2025
Verb
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The issue was not mentioned in the official report on the Danish Realm submitted to parliament on February 28, 2024, though threats to Greenland from China and Russia were.—
Morten Høi Jensen,
The Dial,
19 June 2025
-
Download the Vogue app and find our Style Advice section to submit your question.—
Laia Garcia-Furtado,
Vogue,
19 June 2025
Verb
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Luckily for Boca, Auckland has conceded an average of eight goals per game in this tournament.—
Joseph O'Sullivan,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
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At the time, the Trump Administration was attempting to negotiate a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, with terms that heavily favored Putin: Ukraine would concede all the territory that Russia had occupied and give up its effort to join NATO.—
Joshua Yaffa,
New Yorker,
23 June 2025
Verb
-
Sherlock & Daughter, which bowed April 16 and dropped its freshman finale June 11, finds Sherlock Holmes (played by Fargo Season 3’s David Thewlis) out of his comfort zone and unable to investigate a sinister case without risking the lives of his closest friends.—
Matt Webb Mitovich,
TVLine,
16 June 2025
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While some pieces are already part of its high jewelry collection, a more approachable watch offering is in the works and might bow in a few years, said Grassi Damiani.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
13 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Knuckle under.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knuckle%20under. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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