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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to abandon
to stop doing (something) permanently
I hope you won't give up playing the piano
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to succumb
to yield to the control or power of enemy forces
with the prospect of a renewed enemy attack, the regiment decided to simply give up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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 give up
But even in the face of uncertainty, Americans are not giving up summer travel.
—
Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
Tehran has proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz but doesn’t want to give up its nuclear weapons program.
—Jim Edwards, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026
Covington Police Department Chief Michael Ferrell said in a statement that his agency never gave up on Sharp's case.
—Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 28 Apr. 2026
And there was also something in me that, even in the darkest moments, chose not to give up.
—Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for give up
Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
Tehran has proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz but doesn’t want to give up its nuclear weapons program.
—Jim Edwards, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026
Covington Police Department Chief Michael Ferrell said in a statement that his agency never gave up on Sharp's case.
—Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 28 Apr. 2026
And there was also something in me that, even in the darkest moments, chose not to give up.
—Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for give up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for give up
Verb
-
The Royals took a 7-6 lead and never relinquished it.—
Jaylon Thompson
May 2,
Kansas City Star,
2 May 2026
-
The team will relinquish its district title and conduct a full audit of its athletic eligibility process.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
Even as anthropologists were decisively abandoning totemism, however, the idea was gaining cultural credibility elsewhere.—
Glenn Adamson,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
-
Mason’s project is a prime example of how journalists are reaching audiences who have abandoned traditional TV for streaming.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
The odds were always bad, and the Dallas Stars succumbed not to math but the better team.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
1 May 2026
-
Rangel succumbed to his injuries two days later, on December 6.—
Peter D'Abrosca , Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
After the Chiricahua Apache surrendered in 1886, the land became home to a family of Swedish immigrant settlers, the Ericksons.—
Staff Author,
Travel + Leisure,
1 May 2026
-
The use of the term caused alarm as international humanitarian law explicitly forbids armed forces from denying enemy combatants to surrender and instead killing them.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The truck was en route to deliver bread to the airport when it was grazed by the plane.—
Roni Jacobson,
New York Daily News,
4 May 2026
-
At the building’s peak, five-foot-tall concrete letters spell out a hundred and three words of a speech delivered by Obama in Selma, Alabama, in 2015, on the fiftieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when John Lewis and other civil-rights activists were beaten at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge.—
Peter Slevin,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
For decades, California had some of the strongest legal protections for law enforcement officers in the country, at times allowing those who engaged in serious misconduct to quietly quit and find jobs in other departments.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
2 May 2026
-
But in the end, higher jet fuel prices triggered by the Iran war drained cash from the business at an accelerating pace, forcing it to call it quits.—
Bernard Condon,
Chicago Tribune,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
Most underrated player This question yielded a wide variety of answers, with 89 players receiving at least one vote.—
Josh Robbins,
New York Times,
6 May 2026
-
More competition is always good though, yielding quicker product releases and better customer service.—
Rachyl Jones,
semafor.com,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
Deputies rendered medical aid; however, one man and the woman succumbed to their injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Perhaps Pfleger would be well advised to stick to his faith and his flock and to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, rather than to continue to pontificate from the pulpit — or even the paper.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Give up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/give%20up. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
