knuckling under

verb

present participle of knuckle under
1
as in succumbing
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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in surrendering
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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for knuckling under
  1. succumbing
  2. surrendering
  3. submitting
  4. giving up
  5. giving in
  6. conceding
  7. bowing
Verb
  • Petey Halpin almost tagged Jackson for a two-out homer, the ball instead succumbing to gravity near the warning track.
    — Zack Meisel, New York Times, 21 July 2026
  • The nightmare grows more and more fierce as guests venture through the haunted house, encountering ferocious Deadites around every turn before succumbing to the evil forces themselves.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 21 July 2026
Definition of succumbing
Verb
  • England was knocked out of the World Cup in painful fashion on Wednesday, surrendering two goals in the final 15 minutes of its semifinal clash with Argentina.
    — Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 18 July 2026
  • Giving up citizenship means surrendering valuable rights that may benefit not only you but also future generations of your family.
    — Andy J. Semotiuk, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of surrendering
Verb
  • The European Commission adopted the Delegated Act, which updates and simplifies the list of products covered by the EUDR, while the Implementing Act outlines the information system for submitting due diligence statements and simplified declarations.
    — Jennifer Bringle, Footwear News, 16 July 2026
  • One former employee recalled submitting about one complaint to the system per month over the course of about a year.
    — Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 16 July 2026
Definition of submitting
Verb
  • Jones is giving up his prime spot for arguably the biggest single global sporting event to come to his venue.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 July 2026
  • Instead of Rock Hill giving up half its money from the Octapharma deal, the city would give up all of it over the 40-year incentive.
    — John Marks, Charlotte Observer, 8 July 2026
Definition of giving up
Verb
  • In 1997, as Sanders was reckoning with his father’s pain, Glass was giving in to hers.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 21 June 2026
  • Sonya, despite having a boyfriend, seems to feel the same way, but time and society are the only things holding her back from giving in to these feelings.
    — Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026
Definition of giving in
Verb
  • Spanish captain Rodri was crowned the Golden Ball winner as best player, while goalkeeper Unai Simón won the Golden Glove after conceding just one goal during Spain’s eight games.
    — Peter Weber, TheWeek, 20 July 2026
  • Their defence has been just as imperious in reality, conceding only once across seven matches, against Belgium in the quarter-finals.
    — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 20 July 2026
Definition of conceding
Verb
  • An adventure bowing to higher authority, raising yourself above nothing and no one.
    — Padgett Powell, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026
  • China and Japan are part of the offshore suite opening Friday, with France and Belgium bowing next weekend.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 26 June 2026
Definition of bowing
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

knuckling down (to)
knuckling under
knuckling under (to)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Knuckling under.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knuckling%20under. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of maverick

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
thumbnail graphic with text word of the day quiz
Weekly "Word of the Day" Quiz See how well you know each Word of the Day for Ju...
See All