KNUCKLE UNDER Synonyms: 54 Similar and Opposite Words

knuckle under

verb

Definition of knuckle under

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to surrender

to yield to the control or power of enemy forces the remote outpost was overrun and forced to knuckle under

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 knuckle under Some owners show their mettle for a spell, then find adequate reason to knuckle under; others have no intention of even pretending to do what is hard or what is right. — David Remnick, New Yorker, 29 May 2026 Everyone, including the media, knuckles under. — Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 24 Feb. 2026 That’s a clear message to others to get in line and knuckle under — or else. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2026 How much of this is a bluff designed to get Senate Democrats to knuckle under and vote to reopen the government and how much of this is wishcasting by MAGA? — Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 10 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for knuckle under

Verb

Mark died last year, at sixty-two, from cancer; Bragg’s older brother, Sam, had also succumbed to the disease a few years earlier, at sixty-four.

— Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2026
Others succumbed to their wounds or the conditions endured in captivity.

— Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of succumb

Verb

This is a place to take a risk, to surrender, and at the very least, to experience something that can only happen for you in that moment — something altogether fleeting that is just yours.

— Chris Willman, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
Within a minute of the puck hitting the ice, the Dons surrendered the first breakaway.

— Richie McGinniss, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of surrender

Verb

In 2009, armed men stopped a convoy of civilians, relatives, lawyers and journalists heading to submit election filings in Maguindanao and killed 58 people, at least 32 of them journalists and media workers.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
An Anthropic artificial intelligence model submitted a false tip to a Philadelphia police website about an unsolved homicide case, authorities and Anthropic said.

— Mae Anderson, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026