knuckled under

verb

past tense of knuckle under
1
as in succumbed
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 surrendered
to yield to the control or power of enemy forces the remote outpost was overrun and forced to knuckle under

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for knuckled under
  1. succumbed
  2. surrendered
  3. submitted
  4. fell
  5. conceded
  6. bowed
Verb
  • The man succumbed to his injuries at the scene while the boy died at the hospital, per the release.
    — Ben Brachfeld, PEOPLE, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Shakur succumbed to his injuries six days later at 25 years old.
    — Michael Ruiz , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of succumbed
Verb
  • The suspect surrendered to officers in a home's driveway, and he was taken into custody.
    — Julie Sharp, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Washington Capitals Despite barely even being a functional hockey team for the first decade or so of their existence, the Caps have only surrendered one three-point debut in their history, and that one came on opening night in 2000.
    — Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of surrendered
Verb
  • On Monday, prosecutors submitted a six-page pleading to the judge arguing against restricting the accuser's testimony.
    — John Lynch, Arkansas Online, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The cruise line submitted a subsequent report detailing a range of corrective actions, from rewashing coffee urns to discarding the tray of bread where the fly was found.
    — Nathan Diller, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of submitted
Verb
  • Rincker, a German immigrant, was known for casting the bell that hung from the first Cook County Courthouse, which was felled by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
    — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Frightened that she may be plagued by the same mental illness that felled her mom, Gemma stubbornly refuses to believe anything is wrong.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of fell
Verb
  • But the rest of the second quarter was South Africa's and New Zealand somehow conceded only a second Kolbe penalty and not 10 points, at least.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Aug. 2026
  • If Gluck has willingly conceded to the anti-erotic proclivities of his intended audience, Araki has, naturally, set out to defy them.
    — Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of conceded
Verb
  • The interactions between the two groups were lovely, as KiiiKiii bowed to their seniors and expressed their admiration to the XG members.
    — Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Their complaint states that the combined company will control 30 percent of movies that have earned $100 million-plus at the box office and have been bowed in 3,000 theaters for wide release.
    — Erik Hayden, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of bowed
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.

Browse Nearby Words

knuckle down (to)
knuckled under
knuckled under (to)
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Cite this Entry

“Knuckled under.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knuckled%20under. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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